Gheorghe Caranda (April 21, 1884 – June 20, 1912) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n army officer and early aviator. He registered at Cotroceni Piloting School founded by

George Valentin Bibescu George III Valentin, Prince Bibescu (; 22 March 1880, Bucharest – 2 July 1941, Bucharest) was a Romanian early aviation pioneer and automobile enthusiast. Family His parents were George Bibescu (son of Gheorghe Bibescu) and Valentine de Riquet ...

in 1911, and earned his pilot license in 1912. On June 20, 1912 he crashed his biplane and died on

Cotroceni Cotroceni is a neighbourhood in western Bucharest, Romania located around the Cotroceni hill, in Bucharest's Sector 5. The nearest Metro stations are Eroilor, Academia Militară, and Politehnica. History The Hill of Cotroceni was once covered ...

field in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, thus becoming the first Romanian airplane accident fatality. The Farman III airplane was among those used at Chitila Piloting School, and reportedly had a longitudinal stability problem, and in addition the engine was under-performing on the day of the accident. Caranda received the

Military Virtue Medal The Military Virtue Medal ( ro, Medalia "Virtutea Militară") is a Romanian military decoration, instituted on April 8, 1872, by King Carol I. A previous version, called ''Pro Virtute Militari'', was established by Alexandru Ioan Cuza in 1860 f ...

posthumously and his name is listed first on the Romanian Airmen Heroes Memorial in Bucharest, before that of aircraft builder and pilot

Aurel Vlaicu Aurel Vlaicu (; 19 November 1882 – 13 September 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor and early pilot.Gheorghiu, 1960 Early years and education Aurel Vlaicu was born in the village of Binținți in Transylvania, Aus ...

References

External links

Gheorghe Caranda on earlyaviators.com

1884 births 1912 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Romania Military personnel from Iași Romanian aviators Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1912 {{Romania-bio-stub