Copyright, by Brown Brothers, N. Y.
CHAVEZ ON HIS FATAL FLIGHT ACROSS THE ALPS
THE LATE CALBRAITH P. RODGERS, TRANS-CONTINENTAL FLIER
This picture was taken just after Rodgers had picked himself up after one of the many smash-ups of his aeroplane during his ocean to ocean flight.
Of course it hasn't all been the winning of prizes and the cheering of crowds, for, as we all know, there has been a tragic side to aviation. Up to the summer of 1912 more than 150 persons had met death in aeroplane accidents. To analyze all these accidents would require a whole book, but experts agree that in a great many cases they were the result of carelessness on the part of the pilot. Of course there were other causes, such as the collapse of the wings, the breaking of stays, the overturning by wind gusts, "holes in the air," the explosion of the motor, the failure of the motor at a critical time, or the collapse of the aviator, but authorities declare that many of these can be prevented by the use of proper care by the designers, manufacturers, and pilots of the air vehicles.
Two of the most tragic of the recent air fatalities were the deaths of Arch. Hoxsey and Rodgers at Los Angeles, the former in December, 1910, and the latter in April, 1912. Hoxsey had just set a world's record for altitude in his Wright biplane, while Rodgers only a few months before his death had completed a transcontinental flight and made a world's record.
Several women aviators also were killed in 1912, including Miss Harriet Quimby, one of the first American women to take up flying. Miss Quimby's machine fell with her in Boston while she was making an exhibition flight.