Hundreds see famed aviator’s fatal crash

April 3, 1912: Calbraith Perry Rodgers, who in 1911 made the first coast-to-coast journey by plane, died in a crash at Long Beach while a crowd of 1,500 watched. He was only about 400 feet off the ground when his plane plunged. “He miscalculated the depth of a low dip and was unable to right his machine and lift it over the pier,” The Times reported. At the time of his death, Rodgers, 32, had been flying his Wright Model B biplane in Long Beach for almost two weeks. He had been taking passengers with him, The Times reported, but was flying solo when he crashed. His historic transcontinental flight from New York to Pasadena the year before took 49 days -- and included many crashes and stops along the way.