This image, original date and photographer unknown, is of one of the Wright Brothers’ planes being flown over what was then Fort Myer, now the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. It cannot be determined who is piloting the plane in this photograph. The color photograph was taken in a similar location near the edge of Summerall Field and Bldg. 417, March 16. Lt. Thomas Selfridge is credited with being the first military officer to fly a solo flight on May 19, 1908, in Hammondsport, N.Y., according to the First Flight Society’s website. On Sept. 17 of the same year, Selfridge, while test-flying the “Flyer A” with Orville Wright on what was then known as Fort Myer, crashed due to a broken propeller where the Tri-Service parking lot is located today. Selfridge was killed, becoming the first fatality in powered aviation, while Orville Wright was injured and brought to the installation hospital, now known as Bldg. 59, seen in the bottom of the image. Selfridge is buried in Section 3 of Arlington National Cemetery, about one mile from where the accident occurred. His obelisk reads, in part, “Killed in the service of the United States in an aerodrome accident.” (JBM-HH photo illustration by Rachel Larue)
| Date Taken: | 03.16.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.19.2015 18:49 |
| Photo ID: | 1824122 |
| VIRIN: | 150316-A-DZ999-071 |
| Resolution: | 2054x1600 |
| Size: | 1.35 MB |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 79 |
| Downloads: | 10 |
This work, JBM-HH: Throwback Thursday No. 6, by Rachel Larue, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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