Lewis C. Rockwell

Lt L. C. Rockwell of the 10th United States Infantry Regiment at the controls of a Curtiss Model E - College Park, Maryland Lewis Cassidy Rockwell (23 November 188428 September 1912) was a United States Army Second Lieutenant who died in an aircraft crash. Rockwell was the fourth commissioned officer of the United States Army to meet death in an aviation accident.

Early life Lewis Cassidy Rockwell at the United States Military Academy, c. 1907 Rockwell was born in Glendale, Ohio, on 23 November 1884, the son of Cecilia Sherman Moulton née Little (1861–1919) and Charles Henry Rockwell (1848–1888). His siblings were Frances Sherman Rockwell McLaren (1883–1961) and Charlotte Henrietta Rockwell Lackman (1886–1964). He entered the United States Military Academy in 1903 and on graduating he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in 1907. Assigned to the Third infantry, he afterwards was transferred to the Tenth infantry, from which he volunteered his services in the Aviation Corps. Regarded as a most careful aviator, Rockwell had received his certificate as a civilian pilot three weeks before the crash.

The next day, Rockwell test-flew the plane alone to ensure proper functioning; after reaching and assured that the aircraft was functioning properly, the lieutenant landed and picked up Scott. The takeoff and flight itself were uneventful as the small craft flew at an altitude of for about ten minutes. However, when attempting to land, the plane developed engine problems and began to dive; Rockwell stopped the plane's engine within of the ground, but could not stop the descent and crash. Scott was dead at the scene, but Rockwell, his head buried partly in the earth, was still alive but unconscious. He never regained consciousness and died later at Walter Reed General Hospital. More than 300 people watched the crash.

The plane in question had been rebuilt thrice and logged over one thousand flights; it was made of wood, wire, cloth, and glue. The official incident investigation found that the plane's control wires were still intact after the crash. Coupled with eyewitness accounts, the investigatory board determined that pilot error was the cause: Rockwell misjudged the plane's altitude upon descent and could not recover from the dive.

Legacy Scott and Rockwell were buried in Arlington National Cemetery on 1 October 1912. Rockwell Field, located on North Island in San Diego, California, originally called the Signal Corps Aviation School, was renamed in his honor on 20 July 1917.