Los Angeles, CA Famous Aviator Killed, Dec 1910

HOXSEY'S PLUNGE TO DEATH.

HE AND MACHINE ARE HURLED DOWNWARD TOGETHER AFTER SOARING 7,142 FT.

Special to The New York Times.
Los Angeles, Cal., Dec. 31. -- After reaching a height of 7,142 feet, ARCHIBALD HOXSEY, holder of the world's altitude record and of the American endurance record, was instantly killed at Dominguez Field this afternoon. He seemed to have regained control of his machine to within 500 feet of the earth, from which distance came the fatal drop.
HOXSEY had left the ground at 1 o'clock sharp, just as the bomb announcing the opening of the day's events had been set off. He rose in graceful spirals until he was out of sight in the clouds. Other events held the attention of the crowd for about an hour. Then suddenly some one in the grand stand spied HOXSEY, a mere speck in the sky.
Soon every one saw that the Wright aviator was not descending in his usual way.
His long dips and spirals were longer even than usual and the aviator seemed to be struggling with something on his machine.
"My God,he's gone," a hoarse voice shouted, as HOXSEY and his machine were seen plunging straight toward the earth.
Latham, the French aviator, who was flying about the field, headed his Antoinette straight for the spot where HOXSEY would land, and was there almost as soon as he fell. Hundreds of men raced across the field, vainly hoping to do something to save HOXSEY.
HOXSEY'S body was found broken and twisted out of all semblance when the wreckage had been cleared sufficiently so that his body could be reached. He was sitting firmly in the seat, his arms around the levers. The fall telescoped the biplane.
The steel sprocket which drove the propellers lay across HOXSEY'S face, the motor resting upon the right side of his body. Every one of the ribs on that side was shattered. An iron upright, broken by the force of the crash held the avaitor's body impaled upon its jagged point. The stopwatches in the stand registered the exact second of 2:12 o'clock, when HOXSEY'S machine turned over and plunged in its fatal fall.
The news of the tragedy was on the telegraph wires leading out of the press stand before the machine struck the ground.
The spectators all of whom had witnessed the tragedy, sat in awe-stricken silence until the announcer gave the news through the microphone:
"HOXSEY has been killed."
Then from every part of the great stand came shrieks and sobbing of women, who but a short time before had clapped their gloved hands as the daring aviator arose from the field for his fatal flight.
After the announcement that there would be no more flights today hundreds of spectators, both men and women, remained in the grandstand. Members of the Aviation Committee were stunned by the tragic accident.

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