Photograph
Kaminski Wreck
The wreck of John Kaminski's plane, where he had been scheduled to fly at the Fourth of July festivities. |
Image ID: | 10154 |
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Creation Date: | 07 04 1914 |
Creator Name: | Downic |
City: | Tomahawk |
County: | Lincoln |
State: | Wisconsin |
Collection Name: | John G. Kaminski papers, 1912-1960 |
Genre: | Photograph |
Original Format Type: | photographic print, b&w |
Original Format Number: | Milw Mss 146 |
Original Dimensions: | 4.5 x 3.5 inches |
Kaminski later recalled this incident as one of his most serious accidents. "At Tomahawk, I had to take off directly from the street in the heart of the city. My first flight in the morning went off without mishap. In the afternoon, however, a stiff wind sprang up and blew sand and dust around. The city fire department was called out to wet the street and lay the dust. As I started my machine, it began to skid on the wet pavement. I had intended to fly above some high tension wires which crossed the street about a block away. Because of the wet pavement which caused my plane to skid, I saw that I would have to get under the wires. Both sides of the street were lined with people watching the exhibition. As I hit the street intersection traveling at about 70 miles per hour, a cross wind caught my plane and swerved it toward the crowd of spectators. In order to avoid plunging into them, I banked my plane and hit a telegraph post with my left aileron and plunged my nose into the ground. I was knocked unconscious but was soon revived with very little damage to myself but quite a bit of damage to my plane." The postcard of this incident was produced by a Tomahawk area photographer. It is evidence of the somewhat ghoulish public fascination with plane crashes. The danger did not deter Kaminski, but he was about the public. "Of course I will get killed, if I fly long enough," he told reporters in 1912. "So will I die if I live long enough... We are living in a fast age and the aviator who is willing to sacrifice his bones and gore on the altar of a highly seasoned and chance-taking sport, is going to be the one to draw the crowds. I am not egotistical to believe that the crowds come to see me perform some great tricks. Not on your life! They smell danger and they want to be there if I drop ... from the sky." |
Clothing and dress |
Hats |
Dwellings |
Cities and towns |
Fourth of July |
Men |
Outdoor photography |
Women |
Aircraft accidents |
Airplanes |
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Location: | Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, 4th Floor, Madison, Wisconsin |
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