The crash of a Rozière balloon near Wimereux, France on 15 June 1785 is considered to be the first fatal aviation accident. The inventor of the balloon Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and one other occupant named Pierre Romain were both killed in this accident.
The first accident involving a powered aircraft was the crash of a Wright Model A aircraft at Fort Myer, Virginia, USA on 17 September 1908. This accident resulted in the injuring of the co-inventor and pilot Orville Wright and the death of the passenger Signal Corps Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge.