Accident
Wead would have continued his career as a naval aviator had it not been for a serious accident. In April 1926, he was resting upstairs in his home and heard one of his daughters scream. He then rushed downstairs and tripped, falling and breaking his neck. The injury resulted in paralysis. While convalescing, at the encouragement of his Navy friends, Wead began writing.
According to an article written by a San Diego Union Tribune staff writer:
Lieut. Frank Wead Slips on Stairway of Coronado Home; Operated Upon. Lieut. Frank Wead, one of the best known aviators in the naval service, was operated on for a fractured neck at the naval hospital yesterday morning. Wead sustained the injury which came near costing his life when he slipped and fell from the top of the stairway of his home in Coronado late Wednesday night. The aviator had just moved into the home and was unfamiliar with the staircase. Physicians, following the operation yesterday, said that Wead will recover but it is doubtful if he will be able to fly again. Wead's outstanding exploit since entering the naval flying corps was his flight against British pilots in the international seaplane races off the Isle of Wight in 1923, when American naval fliers took all the honors."
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