20 August 1914

On August 20, 1914, Orville Wright and student pilot U.S. Navy Lt. Kenneth Whiting were trying out a modified Wright Model G Aeroboat when one of the wings broke and sent the plane into the Great Miami River in Dayton. Orville “narrowly escaped drowning” in the accident. Lt. Whiting also survived, apparently unscathed, and went on to a distinguished career in Naval aviation.