Wright plane replica crashes

A wingtip hit the ground, causing the accident.

DAYTON (AP) — A replica of the Wright brothers’ plane crashed Friday during a demonstration to mark the 102nd anniversary of the flight that the aviation pioneers called a display of the first practical flying machine.

There were no injuries, but the crash damaged the replica of the 1905 Wright Brothers Flyer III — a fragile aircraft made primarily of wood and fabric.

The plane came down about 30 seconds into the flight in front of hundreds of spectators at Huffman Prairie, where Wilber and Orville Wright tested their airplanes and taught themselves to fly. The airfield is now part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The plane’s motor and frame were functioning properly when he took off, said pilot Mark Dusenberry. But the aircraft began oscillating and moving up and down between 20 feet and five feet off the ground in roller-coaster fashion. As the plane turned, one of the wingtips hit the ground, bringing the aircraft down.

Amanda Wright Lane, great grandniece of the Wright brothers, said that, while the plane came to the ground “very unceremoniously,” the flight itself brought tears of happiness to her eyes.

Lane said her ancestors crashed numerous times on the prairie as they tested and perfected their airplane. She said Friday’s outcome made her even more impressed with what they accomplished by themselves.

Yevgeny Zvedre, space attache at the Russian Embassy in Washington, was in town to mark the Wright brothers’ anniversary and the 50th anniversary of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, which was launched by the Soviets and circled the globe Oct. 4, 1957.

Zvedre said he would have preferred to have seen a longer flight, but was impressed nevertheless.

“It was the first time in my life I saw such a beautiful, ancient plane flying,” he said. “Why should I be disappointed?”

Witnesses said the plane’s undercarriage was broken up and the propellers damaged.

“It’s fixable,” said Dusenberry, but added that repairs might take up to two years. He said it took him seven years to construct the plane.

Dusenberry, 47, an Ohio Department of Transportation engineer, said he taught himself to build the aircraft by using blueprints he obtained from the 1905 Wright plane displayed at Carillon Park in Dayton.

He flew it initially on property at his Dennison home before participating in public events. He said the plane has stayed in the air anywhere from five seconds to two minutes per flight.

The Wright brothers’ first flight occurred Dec. 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills, a barren stretch of sand dunes a few miles south of Kitty Hawk, N.C. The brothers made four flights that day, the longest lasting 59 seconds.

But the Wrights couldn’t steer the plane or be assured it could land safely, so they returned home to Dayton and began working on a maneuverable, controllable aircraft.

When it came time to test the plane, they settled on Huffman Prairie, a seven-sided, 84-acre pasture outside Dayton owned by a family friend. It was there that the Wrights tested modifications to their airplane and learned to fly.

In 1904, the brothers made 105 flights and were in the sky a total of 45 minutes. They made their first turn Sept. 15, 1904, and their first circle five days later. The following year, they made 50 flights and were in the sky 5 hours, 30 minutes.

On Oct. 4, 1905, the Wrights kept the plane airborne for 32 minutes. The following day, they invited a few close friends to observe.

For 39 minutes, they watched Wilbur Wright do circles and figure eights at an average speed of 38 miles per hour. The flight satisfied the Wrights that the plane could take off under its own power, be fully controlled and maneuvered and land safely.

At the end of the flight, they declared that they had the world’s first practical airplane.