B.H. DELAY (1891-1923)

The list of "Daredevil" DeLay's feats during his ten years of flying experience is endless. Many of them are commonplace nowadays but then they were aviation firsts. He remained constantly in the limelight.

- JOSEPH NORONHA

SOONER OR LATER DEATH AND DESTRUCTION WILL INTRUDE into any human endeavour. The 120-year history of aviation has seen numerous murders and murder-suicides. Violent hijackings or bombs planted in passenger aircraft were frequent in the second half of the 20th century, causing the deaths of hundreds of innocent people. This forced a tightening of airport screening and safety procedures. Hence both hijackings and aerial bombings have thankfully become rare. Several commercial flights have also been deliberately crashed (the 9/11 disasters being the most notorious) and others are suspected of having been so lost.

On a far smaller scale is the murder of a passenger or pilot while flying, either by someone on board, or due to the plane being tampered with before flight. Here is the story of the first case of suspected aerial murder in United States and perhaps world history. The victim was the American aviator, B.H. DeLay, who pioneered many of the popular stunts used in the early barnstorming air-shows. He also adapted them for movies involving many top Hollywood stars. Through his daring and innovative performances he greatly expanded the limits of the film industry in the US.