The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-05-24
SIXTEEN MEN
FALL 800 FEET
WITH AIRSHIP
Ten Thousand People Witness
= Spectacular Accident at
Berkeley, Cal.
VICTIMS ALL MORE OR
LESS BADLY INJURED
CONSIDERED ALMOST A MIR
ACLE THAT ALL WERE NOT =.
INSTANTLY KILLED.

Oakland. Cal, May 2S-The great
Morren aiTship the largest ever con-
structed, burst on its trial trip when
500 feet in the air above crowd Of
10000 spectators at Berkeley at l1:4O
o'clock today. The sixteen men who
made the ascension with the big craft
were dashed to the ground, and every
one OF them more or less injured. Fro
ken legs and arms and internal inju-
ries were suffered by most of them, and
II is believed that two will die.
Spectacular Accident.
tThe accident was a most spectacular
one. A great crowd had gathered about
the vacant lot where the big gas bag
had been inflated with 5000 cubic feet
of Illuminating gas. TO watch the trial
trip of the airship. There were sixteen
persons, five of them engineers in
charge of the five gasoline engines,
several newspaper photographers the
inventor OF the aiTship. c. A. MOTrell,
and an Australian aeronaut. who.
against the orders of Morrell, climbed
on TO the rigging just as the great ship
lifted from the ground. made the
3ured, and their escape from death is
almost miraculous.
Fall of 500 Feet.
. Rising slowly under the power from
hve gasoline engines, the great aicship
lifted to a height of probably 500 feet.
Suddenly there was a ripping, roaring
sound, and the forward end Of the air.
ship tilted downward and Il began TO
settle slowly TO the ground. The occu-
pants of the airship clung desperately
10 the rigging, while the crowd of 10000
people or more were panic-stricken be
fore what appeared to be impending
disaster TO sixteen men. As the AIR
ship settled toward the ground. sew
eral of the man leaDed and a number
were seriously injured in the fall. 9th
ers stayed with the craft until il
reached the ground and they, 700, were
injured by the heavy engines and the
superstructure of the alrship.
The Injured.
Following is a list of injured:
c. A. Morrell, inventor OF the &orrell
airship. caught inside the rigging and
crushed by one of the prOpellers. legs
broken: seriously injured.
c. Triple. san Francisco, engineer
al engine No. 4. crushed by his engine.
sJustin Barber, commercial photogra-
pher. Berkeley, ribs broken, internally
injured.
". Tyson, valve tender, san Francis
co. jumped when car was within fifty
feet of ground, internally injured
r. c. c. Wallin, newspaper photog-
Tapher, San Francisco, badly lacera ted;
probably internally injured.
p. H GOOdfriend. first engineer.
jumped before car reached the ground.
severely but not dangerously injured.
II. Miller, valve tender, cut and
bruised.
John Burns riding on top Of gas bag.
bruised and lacerated.
Charles =. Hail. commercial Tnotog-
Tapher. riding in forward net work. in
ternally injured.
John Peterson. assistant to Hall.
bruised and laeerated. not serious.
V. ]. F'ulno. engineer second engine.
cut and bruised, not serious.
John Ahearn, engineer No. 5. injuries
not serious.
w. Mowrey. engineer engine No. 3.
slightly injured.
Captain TenfOld. Australian aerOnaut,
crushed, legs broken and seriously in
jured by engine. Tenfold Jumped into
the rigging of the airship as Il rose
from the ground against the wishes Of
MOrrell, the inventor.
j. Y. Rodgers, assistant engineer, in
ternal injuries; probably will die.
G. \. Nelson, cut about head, severely
injured