Even though Richthofen was famous for his flying skill, he crashed on his first solo flight. A few months later, before his first kill, he crashed again. Both times he was uninjured, but the second time, his plane was totally destroyed. He almost crashed again when he followed his first kill to the ground. Later, describing this encounter, he wrote:
I was so close to him that I was afraid I would ram into him. Then, suddenly, the opponent’s propeller turned no more. Hit! The engine was shot up and the enemy had to land on our side, as it was out of the question for him to reach his own lines. I noticed the machine making swaying movements that [indicated] something was not quite right with the pilot. Also the observer was no longer to be seen, his machine-gun pointed unattended up in the air. Therefore, I had hit him and he was lying on the floor of the fuselage.
The plane went out of control, but the pilot revived long enough to safely land at the German airfield. The British observer was already dead, and the pilot died soon afterwards. Richthofen was so excited about his kill that he closely followed the British plane all the way down and almost wiped out his Albatros in a very rough landing.
Source:
Stephens, John Richard. “Firsthand Accounts by Famous People.” Weird History 101: Tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. 93. Print.
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