The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1908-05-26
ALL Of THEM INJURED
Ten Thousand Spectators See Acct
dent When the Great MorrelI Air
ship Makes It's Trial Trip-Escape
Of Occupants Miraculous.

10 the ground ana every one OI Ll0m
more Or less injured. Broken legs
and arms and internal injuries were
sufferd BY most Of them, and it is be-
leved two will die.
"A great crowd had gathered about
the vacant lot where the big gas bag
had been inflated with 100000 cubic
feet Of Illuminating gas, to watch the
trial trip Of the airship. There were
#16 persons, five of them engineers, In
charge Of the five gasoline engines,
several newspaper photographers, the
inventor OF the airship, C. IA. Morrell,
and an Australian aeronaut, who
against the orders Of Morrell,
climbed on to the rigging just as the
great ship lifted from the ground to
make the ascent. All of these per-
SON yer injured and their escape
was almost miraculous.
Airship Rose Slowly. II
Rising slowly under the power Of
the five gasoline engines, the great
airship lifted to a height Of probably
300 feet.
Suddenly there was a ripping, roar
ing sound and the forward end Of
the airship tilted downward and it
began to settle slowly to the ground.
The occupants Of the ship chung des-
perately to the rigging and great
crowds Of spectators became panic
stricken before what appeared to be
impending disaster to the 16 men. As
the airship settled toward the ground
several men leaped and a number
were seriously injured. Others
stayed with the craft until it reached
the ground and they, too, we're in
jured by the huge engines and the
superstructure Of the airship.
List Of Injured. J.
Following is a list Of the injured:
.. A. Morrell, inventor of the air
ship, right leg broken and bruised.
q. 4. taylor, an %aeronaut, known
as Captain Penfold,' broken ankle
and instep and injured spine.
Otto Olsen, one of the crew, broken
ribs and injured back. 4
@. a. Nelson, an engineer, frac-
tured pelvis and injuries to back.
s. wv. Nipple, engineer, broken ribs
and ankle, probable internal injuries.
~. ". Rogers, engineer, fractured
ribs, leg, Commissions all over body, in
ternal injuries; will probably die.
p. g. Wallin, newspaper photogra-
Eher Of San Francisco, injured foot,
bruised and suffering from shock.
Justin Barber, photographer of
Berkeley, ribs and broken and bruised.
P. Fl. Goodfriend, engineer, bruised
and suffering from shock.
II. Miller, one of the crew. cut and
bruised: not serious, =
j. Byrne, pilot, bruised AMI LAGER
ated; not serious. 4s so,s, /.
CHARLES p. Hall photographer.
s. Whipple, engineer, broken ribs
an.t ankle, propably internal injuries.
John Peterson, photographer, bruis-
ed and %lacerated; not serious.
". j. Funo, engineer, cut and bruis-
ed; not serious.
John Ahern, engineer, bruised; in
jur1es slight
". Mowrey. engineer. bruised: in
juries slight.
Accident Was Spectacular.
The accident was a spectacular and
sensational one. Probably 10000 peo-
pie from Berkeley and Oakland had
gathered around the big vacant lot
where the caterpillar-shaped air craft
had been inflated with illuminating
gas. 1T was just 1880 o'clock when
the stay ropes were cut and the air.
ship rose slowly from the earth. The
five gasoline engines, suspended be-
Meath the big bag at intervals Of prob
ably SO feet, each attended by an en-
gineer, were not put in motion until
well up into the air, when two OF
them had slowly set to revolving the
long propellers reaching out from
their sides.
Crew Lost Presence of Mind.
The engines were suspended indie
pendent Of each other and the weight
did not appear to be equalized for
before the ship could be propelled
further than a few feet, the forward
end tilted downward and the airship
stood at In angle Of As degrees, sus-
pended in the air. The engineers and
the other members of the crew
seemed to lose their heads, and in
stead of running along the canvas
pathway in order to equalize the
weight and to right the airship, they
chung desperately to the netting and
frail superstructure. The rush of
the gas to the stern end Of the long
afrship and the tremendous weight OF
the engines and crew caused the none
too substantial envelope to burst with
q loud ripping noise. The release of
a great quantity Of gas allowed the
airship to settle slowly towards the
earth, and for a few moments 1t
looked as It 1t would come down slow
enough to avoid any injury to the 16
9 Some OF them, however, lost
their heads before the big machine
could reach the ground and jumped.
These escaped with broken limbs or
severe bruises. Nearing the earth,
however, the gas escaped with a rush
and allowed the engines and the big
bag to come down with great force.
Morrell, the inventor of the craft
and several of the engineers were
thus caught and injured by the en-.
gines.
Panic Among Spectators.
There was q panic in the big crowd
that watched the ascension when the
Five engines had been suspended
BY can Of heavy network, and a
canvas running board connected
chem. The engines were Of the au.
t0nn0bile gasoline type, and each was
attended BY ~ engineer. It Is said
That Morrell was warned by several
experienced aerial navigaton that
no kind Of bag he had provided
would not stand the strain OF the