Gheorghe Caranda
Gheorghe Caranda | |
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Born | Iași, Romania | April 21, 1884
Died | June 20, 1912 Bucharest, Romania | (aged 28)
Nationality | Romanian |
Occupation | Army Officer |
Known for | first Romanian plane crash casualty |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Obelisc_George_Caranda..jpg/90px-Obelisc_George_Caranda..jpg)
Gheorghe Caranda (April 21, 1884 – June 20, 1912) was a Romanian army officer and early aviator. He registered at Cotroceni Piloting School founded by George Valentin Bibescu in 1911, and earned his pilot license in 1912.[1]
On June 20, 1912 he crashed his biplane and died on Cotroceni field in Bucharest, thus becoming the first Romanian airplane accident fatality.[2] The Farman III airplane was among those used at Chitila Piloting School,[2] 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 posthumously and his name is listed first on the Romanian Airmen Heroes Memorial[2] in Bucharest, before that of aircraft builder and pilot Aurel Vlaicu.
References
- ^ Alexandru Gh. Savu (1980). The Army and the Romanian Society. Military Publishing House. p. 274.
- ^ a b c Balotescu, Nicolae; et al. (1984). Istoria Aviației Române (in Romanian). Bucharest: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică. pp. 74–76.