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Ohio corrects Wright Brothers error on new license plates

by Jordan Williams - 10/22/21 11:33 AM ET

Ohio has had to correct its new license plate design, which inaccurately depicts the Wright brothers’ historic plane.

The state Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) unveiled a new standard license plate on Thursday called “Sunrise in Ohio.”

The license plate features a waterway, a rolling landscape and an old-fashioned airplane supposed to symbolize Ohio being the “birthplace of aviation.”

The agency posted to Twitter a photo of the license plate, which featured the plane facing in the wrong direction with a banner image coming out of what would be its front.

This morning Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio BMV Registrar Charlie Norman unveiled Ohio’s new standard license plate. The new plate will be available to drivers starting Dec. 29. Ohio last updated its standard license plate design in 2013. pic.twitter.com/tIOaeycgh5

— Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (@Ohio_BMV) October 21, 2021

The Ohio BMV later apologized for the error.

“We are aware that the plane on the new Ohio license plate unveiled this morning was oriented in the wrong direction. We regret this mistake and have fixed the image,” the agency tweeted. “This is the correct design that will be reflected on all new plates issued to Ohio drivers.”

We are aware that the plane on the new Ohio license plate unveiled this morning was oriented in the wrong direction. We regret this mistake and have fixed the image. This is the correct design that will be reflected on all new plates issued to Ohio drivers. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/HAire7kr9M

— Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (@Ohio_BMV) October 21, 2021

Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio, are credited with inventing the first airplane, though their historic 1903 flight took place in Kitty Hawk, N.C.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation poked fun at the Ohio agency’s error, tweeting, “Y’all leave Ohio alone. They wouldn’t know. They weren’t there.”