The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1910-07-15
BALLOON EEPLODES
AND FIVE PERSONS
PLUNGE TO DEATH
OCCUPANTS or THE CAR ARE
CRUSHED BEYOND REC
IGNITION.
BENzINE TAEK BROKE OPEN
Dirisibls Wrecked ana the Passengers
~ Are Hurled AnnihiIation-Aeeiden
occurs at Rhenlsh, PrussIa-Notsd
Aeronaut.

LEICHLINGEN, Rhenish Prussia,
July 1S.-Falling through space dis
lance of nearly a thousand feet, Oscar
Erbsloeh. noted aeronaut and inventor,
winner of the international balloon
race held in America in 19O7and one
Of the most promising of German ex-
perimenters in aerial fight, and four
companions were dashed to death to-
day in a field near Opladen The 9TH
ers killed were Herr Toelle, a manu-
facturer of Barmen, Engineers Hoppe
and Kranz and the motorman Splcke.
Only peasants saw the tragic ending
Of the fight of the dirigible balloon
Erbsloeh, which, after a series Of I'M
fortunate accidents since it's construc-
ton a year ago. had recently been re-
fitted for passenger service. They had
observed the balloon short time be-
fore as it swung gracefully in the air.
Soon after it disappeared in the
fog loud explosion was heard and
q crumpled mass fell like a plummet
to the earth. So terrible was the force
Of the fall that the gondola was smash
ed to splinters, the motor was buried !
deep in the sod, while the five men
were crushed and torn almost beyond !
recognition.
Experts who examined the wreck
age afterwards declared that the BEN
zine tank had burst. The rubber en-
velope had been torn to shreds and
the bow collapsed. Near by was found
q memento of the trip. 1t was leaf
from notebook of Engineer HoeDpe
obtaining a short record of the jour
ney. There were only few words:
Departed hall 1904; assembled air
900; thick fog northward. Cannot
see earth; sun breaks through
heavy fog below us. Elevating planes
sloped downward; altitude $50 metres
(91 feet) at 9:14."
This is the sole record of the Erbs-
loeh. Other details will never be
learned.
The Erbsloeh was constructed last .
year and had had q dubious career.
The first time that It asceneded 1t /.
crashed into clump Of trees and its :
occupants narrowly escaped injury.
A few days ago during trial flight, a =
propeller was broken. The balloon, :
which was of the non-rigid type, had :,
Just been made over preparatory to >
the establishment of passenger SER :,
vice between Eberfield and nearby
points. Today it was inflated for a !,
final test by the crew The ascent
was made near Opladen during a fog. :,
The death of Erbsloeh and his crew, ;.
Ind the destruction of the balloon !,
or which much had been hoped. fol- -
owing closely upon the loss of Count =.
zeppelin's Deutschland, has caused a
doom in aviation circles. 4,
Oscar Erbsloeh had made many dar- n
ng and successful balloon fights. In
he St. Louis aerial race, when he won \,
he International cup, which had been \,
AIKEN the year before by Lieut.. Frank
) Lahm at Paris, he covered dis -,
ance of S76 miles. Starting at St. m
,ouis he landed at Asbury Park. N. N
:, two miles further from the point Of
scent than his nearest competitor, M. =
eBlanc, of France, who came down l
| HerbertsviIle, N. ]. Erbsloeh on that
ccasion piloted the balloon Pom
ern.
In February, 1909, Erbsloeh made
smarkable balloon trip across the
lps. His balloon, the Berlin. re-
aimed in the air for thirty hours,
a maximum altitude of about
900 feet. An average tempera-
re of about IL degrees below zero
as experienced. ed