This day in history: Franz Reichelt died on this day in 1912. Reichelt was a tailor and inventor who leaped from the Eiffel Tower and fell to his death wearing a parachute made from cloth of his own invention. He was asked by friends and authorities to use a dummy for the feat, but declined saying "I intend to prove the worth of my invention". Reichelt came to be known as the Flying Tailor.
Others have died as well in the past while testing their aerial inventions. Over 1000 years ago a Kazakh Turkic scholar from Farab named Ismail ibn Hammad al-Jawhari died while trying to fly using two wooden wings and a rope. He leapt from the roof of a mosque in Nishapur and fell to his death.
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier was the first known fatality in an air crash when his Rozière balloon crashed on 15 June 1785 while he and Pierre Romain attempted to cross the English Channel.
Otto Lilienthal (1848–1896) died the day after crashing one of his hang gliders.
Aurel Vlaicu (1882–1913) died when his self-constructed airplane, Vlaicu II, failed during an attempt to cross the Carpathian Mountains.
Henry Smolinski (died 1973) was killed during a test flight of the AVE Mizar, a flying car based on the Ford Pinto and the sole product of the company he founded.
Michael Dacre (died 2009, age 53) died after a crash that occurred while testing his flying taxi device designed to permit fast, affordable travel between regional cities.
Sheikh Ismail (died 2021, age 24) died when his self-constructed, low-cost helicopter failed during its initial flight test. The tail rotor malfunctioned, hit the main rotor which subsequently hit Sheikh in the head.
Also on this day in history (February 4 1982): David Grundman, while shooting at a cactus with his shotgun near Lake Pleasant Regional Park, Arizona, was crushed when a 4-foot limb detached and fell on him.
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