“ Rodgers had often talked of the deaths of other aviators. "Etherial Asphyxia or aerial somnipathy" had been the trouble with many, he said. "It lurks in the pockets of the upper air strata and creeps irresistibly upon the senses of an aviator, lulling him into a dreamy unconsciousness." Rodgers' death makes 127 aeroplane fatalities since aviation began. He is the twenty-second American aviator to be killed. ”

“ His machine was broken and repaired so many times that only the vertical rudder and the drip pan of the original outfit remained when he reached the Pacific coast. Although Rodgers lived much of the time here, his home was in Havre de Grace, Maryland. He leaves a mother, whose enthusiasm over the fame which her son won has always been tempered with her fear that eventually he would meet some such death as came to him today. ”

“ Many men rushed to his aid. "Ernest Scott and James Godwin, life guards, were first to reach him. They said Rodgers head was hanging over one wing of the machine; the heavy engine was on his back, and the feet were drawn up, nearly doubling up over his shoulders. "Rodgers was lifted from the wreck, and hurried to the bath house hospital. He died on the way. "Examination showed his neck, jawbone and back had been broken. "A telegram was sent to the aviator's widow, who lives in Pasadena, and a cablegram to his mother, Mrs. ”