Frank S. Scott (2 December 188328 September 1912) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

corporal who died during his second enlistment, aged 28, in an

aircraft crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of f ...

. As the first enlisted American to die in an aircraft incident, Scott was memorialized multiple times.

Personal life

Frank S. Scott was born in Braddock, Pennsylvania on 2 December 1883. He and his sister Clara were orphaned in 1889 when their parents died in the Johnstown Flood; they were thereafter raised by an aunt.

US Army

Scott enlisted in the

at Fort Slocum on 2 March 1908, and served with the Field Artillery Branch. In 1911,

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Scott was

discharged Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

at Fort Myer (with "excellent"-rated character) from "Battery D, 3rd Regiment, Field Artillery." The very same month, he re-enlisted with "Company G, Signal Corps." That July, then- Corporal Scott began suffering from a lengthy unknown illness. Upon recovery, he was deemed unfit for his current duties and transferred to the Signal Corps' Aeronautical Division at College Park Flying Field in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. At his new assignment, Scott discovered a penchant for

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

and was re-tasked from his duties of releasing hot air balloons to becoming chief

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and r ...

for one of the

Wright Model B The Wright Model B was an early pusher biplane designed by the Wright brothers in the United States in 1910. It was the first of their designs to be built in quantity. Unlike the Model A, it featured a true elevator carried at the tail rat ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

s assigned to the Field.

Death

By 27 September,

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Lewis Rockwell had promised Scott an aircraft-ride on 28 September while testing for his aviator ratings. An officer had asked to be Rockwell's passenger, but since Scott weighed less (having not fully recovered from his 1911 illness), he received the coveted seat; excited about the upcoming flight, Scott joked with a visiting

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Bernard Rome that he was just 2LT Rockwell's " ballast". Pw21-1

The next day, Rockwell test-flew the plane alone to ensure proper functioning; after reaching and assured that the aircraft was functioning properly, the lieutenant landed and picked up Scott. The

takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a t ...

and flight itself were uneventful as the small craft flew at an altitude of for about ten minutes. However, when attempting to land, the plane developed engine problems and began to

dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

; Rockwell stopped the plane's engine within of the ground, but could not stop the descent and

crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

. Scott was dead at the scene, and Rockwell died later at

Walter Reed General Hospital The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and reti ...

, having never regained consciousness. More than 300 people watched the crash. The plane in question had been rebuilt thrice and logged over one thousand flights; it was made of wood, wire, cloth, and glue. The official incident investigation found that the plane's control wires were still intact after the crash. Coupled with eyewitness accounts, the investigatory board determined that pilot error was the cause: Rockwell misjudged the plane's altitude upon descent and could not recover from the dive.

Legacy

Scott and Rockwell were buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

on 1 October 1912; Scott's grave is numbered 5331-5 in section 13. Honoring Corporal Frank S

On 20 July 1917, in accordance with the standard procedure of naming aviation fields for those servicemembers who died "during the 'experimental' era" of aviation, Scott Field was named for the first American

enlisted Enlisted may refer to: * Enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or ...

man to die in an aircraft accident. With Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force

Thomas N. Barnes Thomas Nelson Barnes (November 16, 1930 – March 17, 2003) was an airman in the United States Air Force who served as the 4th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force from October 1973 to July 1977, the first African American in that position. ...

as the guest of honor on 20 July 1976, a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

-and-

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

memorial was dedicated to Corporal Scott at the Air Force base named for him. , Scott Air Force Base was the only

United States Air Force base This is a list of installations operated by the United States Air Force located within the United States and abroad. Locations where the Air Force have a notable presence but do not operate the facility are also listed. Background The locatio ...

named for an enlisted person.

Personal life

US Army

Death

Legacy

References

See also