On this episode of Our American Stories before air travel became routine flight was a dangerous experiment In Lt Thomas E Selfridge climbed into a fragile biplane beside Orville Wright ready to test the limits of a new invention that had barely left the ground When a propeller snapped midair the airplane crashed near Fort Myer Virginia Wright survived with severe injuries Selfridge did not becoming the first man to die in a plane crash and marking the beginning of a new chapter in the history of aviation His sacrifice helped shape the safety standards that would guide every flight
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