Air travel today is generally a swift and comfortable affair. Apart from a handful afflicted by the ‘fear of flying’ syndrome, most passengers are a relaxed and happy lot, with every expectation of safely reaching their desired destination. It was not always so. During the early years, aviation was slow and irksome. As aviators struggled to overcome the numerous problems of powered flight there was no room for fear.

Many were the young pilots who lost their lives as they repeatedly braved the poorly understood hazards of the air. Most flights ended rather abruptly following some technical glitch and supporting staff were always at hand to get the flimsy contraptions airworthy again and render medical assistance if necessary. Passengers showed great courage because they had very little assurance that they would return to earth in one piece. And the first person to make the supreme sacrifice in a powered aircraft was Thomas Selfridge – a passenger.

Little is known about the early life of Thomas Etholen Selfridge apart from the fact that he was born on February 8, 1882, in San Francisco. He graduated from the US Military Academy in 1903 and received a commission in the Field Artillery as first lieutenant. He was trained to fly the Army Dirigible Number One purchased in July 1908. When a requirement came up for a US Government representative to join the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), chaired by Alexander Graham Bell, Selfridge was the natural choice. He was appointed its first Secretary. Selfridge first flew on Alexander Graham Bell’s tetrahedral kite the Cygnet, on December 6, 1907. Later he designed the AEA’s first aircraft, officially called Aerodrome Number One, but nicknamed “Red Wing” because of the red silk covering its wings. Although not a qualified pilot, on May 19, 1908, he became the first US military officer to pilot an aircraft when he got airborne alone in AEA’s newest craft nicknamed “White Wing” and flew about 93 yards at a height of ten feet.

In January 1907, the US War Department wanted a plane to be designed for the Army Signal Corps and accepted a bid of $25,000 from the Wright Brothers. By August 1908, the aircraft was ready. It was a canard biplane, prototype of the Wright Military Flyer and had a wingspan of 36 feet 4 inches, and a length of about 29 feet. It was powered by a 30-to-40-horsepower Wright vertical four-cylinder engine driving two pusher propellers via a sprocket-and-chain transmission system. It had no wheels, but used skids as landing gear.

In order to secure the contract, the Wright Brothers had to prove that the aircraft could carry two people and fly a distance of at least 125 miles at a speed of 40 miles per hour. It had also to be capable of transportation by a mule-drawn wagon. On September 17, 1908, about 2,000 people assembled to watch the third demonstration flight. A new, longer propeller had been installed on the aircraft in order to boost its performance. Orville Wright was the pilot and Thomas Selfridge the lone passenger. The Flyer took off at 5:14 p.m. and slowly climbed to about 150 feet over the parade ground. After about four circuits, Wright heard a light tapping sound behind him. He turned to look over his shoulder at the pusher propeller but did not notice anything amiss. Still, not wishing to take any chances, he decided to shut down the engine and glide to the ground. Then he heard “two big thumps” and the aircraft began to shake violently. Something flew off and the machine quickly became uncontrollable. Although Orville did whatever he could to regain control, his efforts were fruitless. The aircraft plunged towards the parade ground. In the subsequent mishap report Orville stated, “The machine suddenly turned to the right and I immediately shut off the power. Quick as a flash, the machine turned down in front and started straight for the ground. Our course for 50 feet was within a very few degrees of the perpendicular.” Thomas Selfridge fractured his skull when his head struck a strut, and he became unconscious. He was treated by an experienced surgeon, but died the same day. He was the first person to die in a crash of a powered aircraft. If he had been wearing a helmet of some kind, it is quite likely that he would have survived the crash. Orville Wright suffered severe injuries, including a broken left thigh, some broken ribs and an injured hip. He was hospitalised for seven weeks.

From the accident investigation it emerged that excessive vibration had caused the propeller to strike a guy wire on the aircraft, tearing the wire from its fastening in the rudder and breaking the propeller off about two feet from the tip. The aircraft crashed from a height of about 110 feet, resulting in its destruction and the death of Lt Thomas Selfridge at the age of 26. Selfridge was buried with full military honours at Arlington National Cemetery. Orville Wright, the pilot on that fateful flight, died at the ripe old age of 76.