First Army Airplane
Fortunately, the Army considered the crash a result of material failure rather than a basic fault of the airplane. A year later, in July, 1909, Army trials again were held at Fort Meyer, with only the Wrights appearing on the scene. On July 30, Orville Wright, accompanied by Lieutenant (now Brigadier-General, retired) Frank Lahm, as the Army’s observer, flew around the course, and fulfilled with ease the Army’s speed and endurance specifications. The Army had its first plane, and on August 2 formal acceptance was made—just six years after man had first flown in a heavier-than-air machine. Thus the U. S. Army was the first in the world to own a military airplane.