Man Born in 1877 Talks About Seeing the Wright Brothers’ First Attempt at Flight in 1903

Life in the 1800s shared footage of Frank B. Wood talking about witnessing Orville and Wilbur Wright making their first attempt at flying in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 14, 1903. During the interview, which took place in 1975, Wood recounted his reaction to seeing the first airplane, noting what happened and why the Wright Brothers were not successful on their first try.

This is Frank B. Wood (1877 – 1975), who witnessed the very first attempt that the Wright Brothers made at powered air flight. It happened on December 14, 1903. According to the official record, “The airplane (called the ‘Wright Flyer’ at the time) left the rail, but Wilbur pulled up too sharply, stalled, and came down after covering 105 ft (32 m) in 3 1/2 seconds, sustaining little damage.”