" .
Something had flown off the airplane. (It was later discovered to be a propeller.) Then the airplane suddenly veered right. Orville couldn't get the machine to respond. It was the when Orville shut off the engine. Yet he kept trying to regain control of the airplane.
" I continued to push the levers, when the machine suddenly turned to the left. I reversed the levers to stop the turning and to bring the wings on a level. Quick as a flash, the machine turned down in front and started straight for the ground." .
.
Heading straight for the ground, Orville was not able to regain control. The Flyer hit the ground hard. The crowd was at first in silent shock. Then everyone ran over to the wreckage. Selfridge, a lieutenant speculating Orville's flight, was accidentally caught in the wreckage. They were able to disentangle Orville from the wreck first. Orville was bloody but still conscious. It was harder to get Selfridge out due to the fact he was unconscious. He too was bloody and had an injury to his head.
Both Orville and Lt. Selfridge were taken to a nearby post hospital . That night at 8:10 p.m. Lt. Selfridge died from a fractured skull, without ever regaining consciousness. Orville suffered a broken left leg, several broken ribs, cuts on his head along with many bruises on his body. Lt. Selfridge was buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. He was the first man to die in an Airplane crash. On October 31, Orville was released from the Army Hospital. Although he was able to walk and fly again, he suffered from fractures on his hip that had gone unnoticed at the time.
In airports today we see video cameras, metal detectors, and drug test machines. Why you ask? Because people over the years have became mentally insane. They think that the world is going to end, so they think by blowing up the airplane they are doing the victims a favor. And some people claim that there is a little voice in their head that is telling them what to do or say.