Gardner: Tragedy of the Barnstorming Lifestyle

Aviation goggles used by pilot Eddie Gardner
The goggles Eddie Gardner wore during the crash.

On May 5, 1921, Eddie Gardner was flying in an air show in Holdridge, Nebraska. His performance was regarded as lackluster. At the conclusion of his performance he went into a tailspin. A tailspin he was unable to recover from. He crashed. He survived the crash, but was in bad shape. He was checked into a hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska, and died during the early morning hours of May 6th. Gardner is buried in his hometown of Plainfield, Illinois.