Thomas Selfridge | |
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![]() Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge (1882–1908) | |
Born | February 8, 1882 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Died | September 17, 1908 Fort Myer, Virginia, U.S. | (aged 26)
Cause of death | Plane crash |
Buried | Arlington National Cemetery Section 3 Gravesite 2158[1] |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | ![]() |
Years of service | 1903–1908 |
Rank | First Lieutenant |
Unit | Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps |
Relations | Thomas O. Selfridge Sr. (grandfather), Thomas O. Selfridge Jr. (uncle) |
Thomas Etholen Selfridge (February 8, 1882 – September 17, 1908) was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and the first person to die in an airplane crash. He was also the first active-duty member of the U.S. military to die in a crash while on duty. He was killed while seated as a passenger in a Wright Flyer, on a demonstration flight piloted by Orville Wright.[2]
Falling from a height of 75 feet, Orville Wright and Lieut. Thomas E. Selfridge of the Signal Corps were buried in the wreckage of Wright's aeroplane shortly after 5 o'clock this afternoon. The young army officer died at 8:10 o'clock to-night. Wright is badly hurt, although he probably will recover.