The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1908-05-28
A GIANT AIRSAIP
BURSTS IN THE AIR
Drops Three Hundred Feet With
Sixteen People.
10000 PEOPLE SEE MACHINE FALL.
The Big Morrell Airship, the Largest
Ever Constructed and Driven by
Six Engines, Collapses on Trial Trip
Gas Bag Bursts and Machine De-
scends in View Of Thousands.

Oakland, Cal. Especially Sixteen
occupants of the Morrell airship, the
largest ever constructed, fell 800 feet
when the craft collapsed on its trial
trip. None was killed, but all of the
16 men were seriously injured. They
suffered broken legs and arms and
several probably have Internal In
juries and will die, It is believed.
Thousands of persons gathered Just
before noon to witness the trial.
The giant ship, which was 450 feet
long and SO feet in diameter COM
bination of aeroplane and dirigible
air craft, driven by six gasoline en-
gines generating 200-horsepower,
rose successfully from the ground TO
a height of 800 feet.
The car was occupied by 16 men
who had become interested in the
invention and who agreed to make
the trial trip before buying stock in
it. All are residents of Berkeley and
Oakland Suddenly the large gas
bag, containing 100000 cubic feet of
illuminating gas, burst The ma
chine began to settle slowly as the
gas escaped. and ii appeared that 1t
would settle to the ground without
injuring the occupants of the car.
When II was within 10 feet of the
ground, however, the remaining gas
was let out with a rush and the
whole machine, thousands of pounds
in weight, dashed to the ground with
terrific force. The occupants of the
car were caught under the heavy ma
chinery. Among the thousands watch
ing the ascent were many women.
AS the big machine collapsed and
dashed to the ground scores of them
tainted. The 16 injured men were
taken to the Roosevelt Hospital, in
Berkeley
The accident was spectacular. A
great concourse of men, women and
children from Berkeley and Oakland
had gathered around a field wherein
the great air shaft had been filled
with Illuminating gas. After much
waiting that made the onlookers anX-
ious, the stay ropes were cut and the
airship rose slowly from earth. The
six gasoline engines, suspended be-
meath the long gas receptacle at in
tervals of about so feet, each at
tended by an engineer, were put in
operation until the airship were well
up in the air. Then two of the en-
gines slowly set in motion the long
propellers reaching out from them
on each side of the ship. Before the
ship could be propelled further than
few feet the forward end tilted
downward until the craft stood at
an angle of 4 8 degrees, nose down
ward.
The members of the crew were ap-
parently unable to run along the can
vas pathway in order TO equalize the
weight and to right the airship, and
they clung desperately TO the netting
and superstructure. The rush of the
gas to the stern of the long gas bag
caused the envelope to burst with a
loud, ripping noise.
The release of a great quantity
of gas caused the airship TO settle
toward the earth. For a few mo-
ments It looked as though it would
come down slowly enough to avoid
any injury to the l6 men.
Some of them, however lost their
heads before the ship could alight
and jumped, suffering broken limbs
or severe bruises. Nearing the earth
the ship lost gas more rapidly and
the overweighted remnant of gas
was borne to earth rapidly with great
force. Morrell, the inventor of the
craft, and several of the engineers
were caught in the understructure
and injured by the engines.