Giant Dirigible, Fighting Hurricane, Crashes to Earth, Breaking Into Four Pieces, on Trip That Would Have Brought It Here Today
BODIES OF CRAFT’S VICTIMS STREWN OVER 10-MILE COURSE
Commander Zachary Lansdowne Goes Down With His Ship and Is Found Dead—Several Are Missing and Two Are Injured.
By United Press
CAMBRIDGE, Ohio, Sept. 3.—Whirled through space, twisted and tossed by the winds until she broke into pieces, the giant naval dirigible Shenandoah hurled fourteen of her crew to their deaths early today near Ava., Ohio, and then fell, a total wreck.
Commander Zachary Lansdowne perished with his ship. In addition to the fourteen dead, two are injured and three of the crew are unaccounted for. The remainder of the crew of forty-two is safe.
Crew Hurled From Cabins
Members of the crew were scattered over an area of ten miles as the giant airship whirled and twisted in the air, tossing them from the cabins swung beneath the gas bag.
Those who witnessed the disaster from the ground described the Shenandoah spinning like a giant “revolving door” until she finally broke in two.
Scattered Over Ten Miles
The dirigible reached the ground in four pieces, scattered over ten miles. First the keel broke off and fell, one part directly to earth in a farmers’ barnyard and the other ten miles away—carrying eight of the crew to the ground with it, uninjured.
Without the keel, the airship careened in the storm beyond all control.
Then a seam opened and the bag broke apart, the forward half dropping to earth, nose first and the stern drifting miles away and landing as it was almost lost to sight.
Tossed Like a Toy
People up early to watch for the coming of the great air cruiser saw her spin and twist and plunge as the gale, as if angry, vented its whims upon the ship tossing it as if it were a toy.
First, a railroad telegrapher at Belle Valley, Ohio, saw the dirigible spinning on its tail above him, nose up and helpless.
Girl telephone operators at Ava, Ohio, looked out and aw It only a few hundred feet from the ground, still fighting its way.
Started Late Yesterday
Then, as they looked, came the final crash and they sent out the word that the Shenandoah was a wreck.
Starting its tragic trip, the big blimp cast off from her mooring mast at Lakehurst, N. J., at 4:02 p. m., Wednesday, bound for a neighborly, week-end visit to the Middle West, where she was to have flown over State fairs in seven State capitals. The return was to have been made not later than Monday.
It was the second attempt of the dirigible to invade the Mississippi Valley, high winds having turned it back once earlier in the summer.
Was on Way Here
It was to have passed over Indianapolis and Lafayette, Ind., today, en route to Scott field, St. Louis, where it was to stop. The return was to have been made by the way of Detroit, where it was to stop again and moor at the new dirigible mast built by Henry Ford at his River Rouge, Mich., plant. Ford was to have boarded the craft to fly back east.
Passing over Akron, Sunday, Chief Petty Officer Frank Masters, listed as missing, was to have dropped off at his home to visit his new heir, baby Masters, who arrived last week. Refused permission to go immediately after the birth, his second request for permission to make a parachute jump to his home had been granted by the navy department.
Red Cross Sends Aid
The trip, Commander Lansdowne expected to be his last flight, at least for some time. He was to be transfered to sea duty Sept. 15.
Lieutenant Commanders C. E. Rosendal, ranking survivor of the Shenandoah, took charge of the wreck.
Conducting himself like a true sailor, Rosendal quietly directed relief work, advising members of the crew, and filing frequent reports to Washington. The Ohio Red Cross sent aid crews.
Only now and then did a quivering muscle betray the terrific strain under which he was laboring. Rosendal was on watch when the ship broke.
Twister Strikes Blimp
‘‘l had just gone on watch.” he told the United Press. ‘‘There was a heavy electrical storm in progress. The ship was making no headway. She had been blown about ninety miles out of her course. We were headed due north when the twister hit us.
“We were flying at an altitude of about 2,500 feet. The twister shot us up about 7,000 feet, I should say.
“The ship made two violent plunges and broke near the middle. The forward end shot up into the air like an airplane soaring from the ground.
Drops to Ground
“The control car, in which all passengers and officers was carried, was on this forward end. The strutts supporting the cabin snapped. The cabin dropped to the ground like a hunk of lead.
“You know now the result of that sickening drop.”
At this point Rosendal, whose home is in Texas, was interrupted by a member of the crew and ended the interview.
Aid Sent by Air
From Lakehurst, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Cleveland, the Navy Department is sending officers by airplane to the scene of the accident. Secretary of the Navy Wilbur announced in Washington.
Medical assistance has been sent from Cleveland, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Commander Fulton of the construction corps is rushing to the scene by airplane.
Blown Off Course
Buffeted by tho storm the giant craft was blown from its course to the southeast. Unable to withstand the gusts the ship crashed, cracking in two, other survivors explained.
Then a freakish up-gust struck the forward section. From this point confusion reigned, although the men stuck to their posts until it was seen there was no hope.
Ropes were lowered in a vain effort to anchor, one member of the crew said, and some men tried to slide down them to safety.
One man jumped from a forward section cabin as the half bag floated southeast and landed in a tree. He was seriously Injured. Seven others stayed in the compartment and of those, only one was injured. They finally landed at Sharon.
Photographer in Bunk
The story of the tragedy as told, by Lieut. W. L. Richardson, chief aerial photographer of the Shenandoah who escaped uninjured, follows:
“We were up 3,000 feet and I was in my bunk.” he said. “We were caught in a squall. We immediately headed the ship upward and ascended to a height of 5,000 feet.
“Conditions in the higher altitude were unfavorable, however, and we dropped back to 3,900 feet.
“We thought then that the ship was under control, but it was sideswiped by a terrific wind. The control car was broken off and the ship nosed up to an angles of 45 degrees.
Fore Part Is Safe
“Frame No. 90 buckled and snapped and the craft broke in two. Then the front half split again.
“The aft part grounded in a field. The center section which was a part of the front half drifted and landed in a woods. It was in that section that all deaths occurred.
“The fore part had so many gas cells that it drifted about and finally landed safely like a balloon near Sharon.”
Rear Admiral E. R. Stitt, surgeon general of the Navy, announced that bodies of all the victims would he held at Caldwell, Ohio, until relatives notified the department what disposition they desire.
Farmer Tells Story
Minor Wood, farmer, said he was told by survivor of Shenandoah the ship was travelling west at an altitude of 3,000 feet when it encountered the heavy wind storms.
The storm caused one motor to break down and forced the ship close to the ground, Wood said he was told. The wind then changed the course of the ship to an easterly direction, he said, shooting it to an altitude of 5,000 feet.
The giant craft then crashed to the ground in front of the home of Tom Davis, residing on the Sarahvllle-Ava Rd.
The big dirigible broke into sections, Wood said, scattering four bodies within a few feet of the wreckage.
Jumps to Safety
The ship took the air again, Wood declared, rebounded to the ground, leaving three dead in a field.
The bag again soared heavenward, took a downward course over a hill and crashed into a small woods.
Another survivor told Wood that when he saw the crash was inevitable, he jumped to safety.
A third survivor said he saved himself by leaning out a porthole and grasping the limb of a tree as the dirigible crashed into the woods, Wood said.
Six bodies were gathered by an ambulance crew and taken to a Belle Valley morgue, Wood declared.
Efforts had been made by Indiana State fair officials to have the blimp fly back over Indianapolis on its return trip, when the fair would have been in progress, but the efforts were unavailing.
The giant dirigible was built in Germany at an enormous cost in the Zeppelin factory at Frederickshafen, and was turned over to the American Government under the reparations agreement. It was assembled at Lakehurst. N. J.
At one time the American Government planed to send it to the Arctic on an exploring trip, but Secretary of the Navy Wilbur, at least temporarily, ordered such arrangements held in abeyance.
The Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, IN, September 3, 1925