Thomas Selfridge, American lieutenant and pilot (born 1882)

Thomas Selfridge

First person to die in an airplane crash (1908)

Thomas Etholen Selfridge was an American first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and the first person to die in an airplane crash. He was also the first active-duty member of the U.S. military to die in a crash while on duty. He was killed while seated as a passenger in a Wright…