A Grim Anniversary: 100 Years Since First Airplane Fatality
Travel Blog • Valerie Conners • 09.17.08 | 10:49 AM ET
A century ago today, Orville Wright piloted a flight that was to incur history’s first airplane fatality: Five minutes after taking off, Wright’s plane crashed into the ground, killing his passenger, Thomas E. Selfridge. That tragic flight and its legacy has drawn recent press, and now the AP commemorates the anniversary.
The article also examines the relative safety of contemporary flights—National Safety Council statistics from 1996 to 2005 indicate only two people died in commercial airline crashes per 10 billion miles traveled, compared to car crashes where 81 people died for every 10 billion miles traveled.
Related on World Hum:
* 2007: Safest Year for Air Travel Since 1963
* Happy Birthday Flight!