爲創紀錄而導致的航空史上十大慘案(上)

When it comes to sports, contests, and newfangled inventions, who doesn't want to be ahead of the competition? But sometimes, becoming the first to do something really sucks, especially when it comes to humanity's fascination with flight. To illustrate how being No. 1 can turn into No. 2, here are 10 fatal firsts in the history of aviation.

說到運動、比賽和標新立異的發明創造，誰不想引領紀錄？但是有時候，第一次嘗試實在令人堪憂，尤其是在人們嚮往的飛行領域。下面10個航空史上致命的案例可以說明，成爲第一的行動如何淪落到第二位。

ie Blanchard

10.蘇菲·布蘭查德

In 1804, Sophie made her first balloon ascent. Five years later, her husband suffered a heart attack, leaving her a widow with debts. To make a living, she piloted a hydrogen balloon at exhibitions, performing for Napoleon Bonaparte and even King Louis XVIII. Fireworks were part of her act, and she drew crowds wherever she appeared in Europe. During her last performance over the Tivoli Gardens in Paris, a firework caused her balloon to catch fire. While trying to land, she fell out of the basket, struck a roof, and landed on the street, dying on impact.

1804年，蘇菲第一次乘熱氣球升空。5年後，她的丈夫突發心臟病去世，留給她一筆債務。爲了生活，蘇菲在展覽活動上駕駛氫氣球，爲拿破崙·波拿巴，甚至國王路易十八表演。煙花表演是其中一部分。無論歐洲哪裏，她所到之處都會人山人海。最後在巴黎提沃利公園（Tivoli Gardens）上空表演時，一束煙火點燃了她的氫氣球。在嘗試着陸的過程中，她從竹籃裏掉出來，摔在房頂上，跌落街面，因撞擊而死。

rt Cocking

9.羅伯特·科金

Early balloonists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries tinkered with parachutes. Some workable designs were produced, but they remained a novelty, and experimentation continued. Robert Cocking, a 61-year-old painter, was inspired when he witnessed André-Jacques Garnerin perform the first successful parachute jump in 1802. Cocking made his own parachute: linen stretched over a cone-shaped framework with an attached wicker basket.

18世紀晚期和19世紀早期駕駛熱氣球的人喜歡隨意改進降落傘。儘管出現了一些行之有效的設計，但是降落傘還是新鮮事物，實驗仍在繼續。羅伯特·科金，一位61歲高齡的畫家，1802年觀看安德烈-雅克·加納林（André-Jacques Garnerin）首次跳傘成功後，倍受鼓舞。科金自己做了降落傘：把亞麻布繃在錐形骨架外面，外帶一個藤條筐。

A couple of professional aeronauts with a balloon agreed to help him test his new device. After making a mile-high ascent at Vauxhall Gardens, Cocking jumped. His parachute broke apart, and he fell to his death.

兩位專業熱氣球駕駛員同意幫助他測試他的新設備。在沃克斯豪爾公園（Vauxhall Gardens）登到一英里高的位置後，科金跳了下來。降落傘解體，他摔死了。

z Reichelt

8.弗蘭茲·瑞切特

An Austrian tailor, Reichelt was also an inventor. He spent a lot of time working out the mechanics of a new type of parachute that could be worn by aviators during flights. At his fifth-floor Paris apartment, he tossed test dummies out the window at all hours and watched the mannequins plummet to the courtyard below.

瑞切特是奧地利一位裁縫，也是一個發明家。他花了大量時間研究一種新型降落傘的部件——飛行員能在飛行過程中穿戴。他在巴黎的公寓位於第五層樓上，他不斷把人體模型拋出窗外，看模型掉到下面的院子裏。

Undaunted, he continued tweaking his design and finally settled on one made of India rubber stretched over a framework. The final prototype resembled a full-body suit with bat wings and an oversized silk hood. With the permission of the Prefect of Police, Reichelt went to the Eiffel Tower to perform the first manned test. His friends pleaded with him not to go. He reportedly replied, "Wait there. I will be down directly." He kept his promise. Reichelt climbed to the first platform, jumped, and fell to his death in front of horrified onlookers.

他毫不退縮，不斷改進自己的設計，最終確定使用一個用印度橡膠繃在框架外面製成的降落傘。最後的成品看上去像一套全身的衣服，帶有蝙蝠似的翅膀和超大的絲質風帽。得到巴黎警察局的允許後，瑞切特來到埃菲爾鐵塔進行第一次真人實驗。他的朋友勸他不要去。他應和着回答到："在那兒等着。我會直接下來。"他兌現了自己的諾言。瑞切特爬上第一個平臺，向下跳，在驚悚的衆人面前摔死了。

oni Disaster

7.卡普羅尼空難

The Societa Italiana Caproni of Italy, designer of the world's first fighter plane, was founded in 1908. At the end of World War I, the company began manufacturing experimental and passenger aircraft including the Ca. 48—a plane that accommodated up to 17 passengers.

意大利卡普羅尼公司成立於1908年，設計了世界上第一架戰鬥機。一戰結束時，公司開始製造實驗客機，包括Ca.48——能搭載17位乘客。

In 1919, a Caproni aircraft of similar design was headed from Venice to Milan in an attempt to break a speed record. Onboard were 15 passengers: seven of them journalists and two of them pilots, including Lt. Resnati. For reasons that were never determined, the plane suddenly caught fire at 900 meters (3,000 ft), lost power, and crashed. There were no survivors.

1919年，一架設計類似的卡普羅尼飛機從威尼斯飛往米蘭，試圖刷新速度記錄。機上有15名乘客，其中有7位記者和2位飛行員，包括雷斯納提（Resnati）上尉。由於某些至今未決的原因，飛機在900米（3000英尺）高空突然着火，失去動力，最後墜毀。機上人員無一倖免。

. Thomas Etholen Selfridge

6.托馬斯·塞爾弗裏奇中尉

In 1907, Selfridge worked with Alexander Graham Bell and test-piloted a huge, tetrahedral kite called the Cygnet I. He also flew an experimental airplane, Red Wing, and became an acknowledged expert in propeller design for the Army. In 1908, he accompanied Orville Wright as a passenger on the test flight of a new aircraft. The plane took off from Fort Myer, Virginia, in front of a large crowd.

1907年，塞爾弗裏奇與亞歷山大·格雷厄姆·貝爾一起工作，試飛了巨型的四面體風箏小天鵝1號（Cygnet I）。他還駕駛過一架名爲紅翅的實驗飛機，成爲了爲軍隊設計螺旋槳的公認的專家。1908年，作爲乘客，他陪同奧維爾·萊特登上一架新飛機試飛。飛機在弗吉尼亞邁耶堡（Fort Myer）起飛，一大羣人圍觀。

After circling the field, the plane's propeller suddenly snapped (it became tangled with the guy wire to the rudder support rod). The plane hit the ground nose-first at 65 kilometers per hour (40 mph). The impact injured Wright and threw Selfridge into the frame, fracturing his skull. He died three hours later.

繞着場地飛行一圈之後，飛機螺旋槳突然啪啪作響（與固定方向舵支撐杆的金屬拉線相纏繞）。飛機以65千米每小時（40英里每小時）的速度撞擊地面，頭部先着地。萊特受傷，塞爾弗裏奇被甩進飛機框架，頭蓋骨破裂。3小時後他死去了。

翻譯:羅惠月 來源：前十網