on 28 may 1921, in one of the first major crashes in aviation history, army air service curtiss eagle serial number "64243", the air ambulance, of the 1st provisional air brigade, crashed during a severe thunderstorm attempting to land at morgantown, maryland while returning to bolling field, district of columbia, from langley field, virginia. the pilot, 1st lt. stanley m. ames, and six passengers were killed. four of the six were air service officers and an enlisted man. two united states congressmen had chosen not to make the flight because of airsickness on the flight from washington to langley. the army's inspector general conducted an investigation of the crash and theorized that the aircraft stalled when it encountered an updraft at low altitude while trying to clear trees near the unfamiliar field and fell vertically, nose first, into the ground.