The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1908-05-29
AIRSHIP
FAILED
WHEN 300 FEET HIGH 1T
FELL WITH 16 MEN.
MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT MEN
WOULD BE KILLED, BUT
WERE MISTAKEN.

ltS trial "Trip III berkeley SATURDAY IoSe
800 feet from the earth before 10000
people, tilted, burst and dropped to the
ground with it's crew of 16 men, every
one of whom was injured. By one OF
those peculiar and fortunate chains of
circumstances which sometimes attend
sensational accidents, these 16 men
miraculously escaped death. None of
the injured, with the possible excep-
ton of one, is expected to die. Seven
of them are seriously hurt and nine
severely bruised and suffering from
the shock.
The accident was a spectacular and
sensational one. Probably 10000 peo-
pie from Berkeley and Oakland had
gathered about the big vacant lot
wherein the great erpillar-shaped
aircraft had been inflated with 100000
cubic feet of Illuminating gas. 1t was
just 1870 when the stayropes were
cut and the airship rose slowly. The
five gasoline engines suspended be-
meath the big bag at intervals of prob
ably so feet, each attended by an engi-
neer, were not put in operation until
we'll up into the air, when two of them
| had slowly set IN motion the long pro-
| pellers reaching out from either side.
| The engines were suspended indie
pendent of each other and the weight
did not appear to be equalized, for be-
fore the ship could be propelled fur
Their than few feet the forward end
tilted downward and the airship stood
at an angle of As degrees, suspended
in the air. The engineers and the
other members of the crew seemed to
lose their heads, and instead of run
ming along the canvas pathway in or.
der to equalize the weight and to right
the airship they chung desperately to
the netting and frail superstructure.
Gasbag Rips.
The rush OF gas to the stern end OF
the long airship and the tremendous
weight of the engines and crew caused
the none too substantial envelope t.
burst with loud ripping noise. The
release of great quantity Of gas
allowed the airship to settle slowly to
ward the earth, and for few mo
ments it looked as If it would come
down slowly enough to avoid any in
jury to the 16 men. Some of them
however, lost their heads before thu
big machine could reach the grount
and jumped. These escaped will
broken limbs or severe bruises. Near
ing the earth, however, the gas es
capped with a rush and allowed the en-
gines and the big bag to come dow
with great force. Morrell, the invento
of the craft, and several Of the eng
: neers were thus caught and injure'
!, by the engines.
Panic in the Crowd.
There was a panic in the big crow
that watched the ascension when tn
> airship began to tilt. AS it burst an
fell toward the earth women screame
> and rsn in fright in every direction
!, Several of them tainted and had
= be cared for.
When the airship landed on tn
ground hundreds of men rushed TO
ward and with knives ripped the ga
|
the vanished material to get out tn
men buried underneath. In the excit
l. ment of cutting the gasbag Robe
Dibble was seriously slashed about til
;; hands and arms.
The injured men were quickly re
cued and taken to the hospitals, whel
they are all doing we'll, with the exec
ton of Rodgers, who, it is believe
8, will succumb to his injuries.
Morrell has for long time bee
y, engaged in building and exploiting b
airship. He had extensively adve
1 tised that this trial of the big al
p ship, which was more than 400 fe
long and SO feet in diameter, was on
T. model of the one he intended
build, declaring that he would co
!. struct an aircraft 1900 feet long al
70 capable of carrying 500 passengers.
G. Wrecks Baldwin Airship.
2, Hammondsport, N. Y.-The Baldw
airship white Wings" made it's fiji
fight here Saturday. 1t attained gre
speed, covering 1873 yards in 10
he seconds. Then Operator McCur
st. failed to reckon on the strong quart
ID ing wind and the machine tilted un
st one of the wings struck the groul
as The airship's nose speared into
on ground and the machine turned turf
of The operator escaped uninjured,
nd the machine will have to be ov
90 hauled.
M Airship Is Dashed to Ground.
10 Toledo, Ohio.-Roy Knabeshue,
aeronaut, in preparing for an atten
to beat the long distance flying I
chine record by a fight from Tolt
use to Clevela nd, met with an accid
In that temporarily put his machine
his of commission. Something went wrt
ur- with the engine, and the mach
1to dashed to the ground, damaging
frame badly.
Altogether during the year l
sti- there will have been under constr