On September 17, 1908, Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge became the first person to die in a powered airplane crash at Fort Myer, Virginia. The 26-year-old U.S. Army officer was flying as a passenger with Orville Wright in a Wright Flyer when a propeller failure sent the aircraft plummeting to the ground.

Selfridge, born in San Francisco in 1882, had already made aviation history before his fatal flight. He was the first U.S. military officer to pilot a modern aircraft solo and had designed the AEA's first powered plane, the Red Wing. His death occurred during Army trials evaluating the Wright brothers' aircraft for military purchase.

The crash exposed the extreme fragility of early aviation technology. The Flyer's wooden propeller shattered mid-flight, causing the aircraft to nose-dive from about 100 feet. Neither man wore protective headgear, as aviation helmets were not yet standard equipment. Selfridge suffered a fatal skull fracture while Wright survived with severe injuries.

Selfridge's death led to immediate safety improvements in military aviation. The Army soon mandated protective headgear for aviators, and the Wright brothers addressed structural weaknesses in their designs. Though remembered as aviation's first fatality, Selfridge was also an innovative engineer who helped advance early flight technology.