Who was the first person killed in a powered-aircraft accident involving a Wright airplane?

Thomas Selfridge was the first person killed in a powered-aircraft accident involving a Wright airplane.

Selfridge was a U.S. Army lieutenant who flew as a passenger with Orville Wright during a demonstration at Fort Myer, Virginia, on September 17, 1908. The Wright Model A suffered a propeller failure, causing the aircraft to crash.

Selfridge sustained a severe head injury and died later that evening. Orville Wright was seriously injured but survived. Selfridge was 26 years old and had been involved in military interest in aviation.

The accident was a major setback for the Wright brothers’ demonstrations and for the U.S. Army’s aviation program. It is distinct from the 1911 crash that killed Calbraith Perry Rodgers, and from later accidents involving other early aviators.