Houdini flies again in 1926

While Houdini never piloted an airplane after his historic Australian flights of 1910, he did occasionally board aircraft as a passenger. This was before passenger air travel was well established. He flew to Catalina Island during production of Terror Island in 1919. In 1920 he and Bess flew across the English Channel to France. But here's an airplane journey in the last year of his life that I was not aware of. This is from the February 19, 1926 York Daily Record.

This wasn't the only talk of air travel for Houdini in 1926. While playing the Orpheum Theater in York, Pennsylvania, Houdini had to travel to Washington D.C. to appear before Congress at 2:00 PM on February 26. His plan was to take a train in the early morning and return by airplane in time for his show that evening. However, insurance forbade him to take the flight. But Houdini appears to have still made it back in time for his show. Might he have taken his flight anyway?

One thing this tells us; had Houdini lived, he almost certainly would have become a frequent flyer.

Related:

• Houdini the aviator
• Houdini and the Transatlantic Flight
• Sady and the Graf Zeppelin