File:Harold Ross Harris October 20, 1922.jpg

Harold R. Harris crash on October 20, 1922. On October 20, 1922 Harris made history as the first pilot to bail out of a stricken aircraft using a free-fall parachute. Harris was flying a Loening monoplane with a modified aileron when the aileron began oscillating badly, pulling the control stick from his hands. Facing a certain crash, Harris bailed out of the stricken aircraft, landing in a backyard grape arbor at a house at 335 Troy St., suffering only bruises on his legs and hand from fighting with the control stick. The Loening crashed into the side yard of a house at 403 Valley St, three blocks away. There were no injuries to anyone on the ground. For his survival Harris was awarded the first membership in the Caterpillar Club, a club for aviators who have bailed out of stricken aircraft and survived

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