Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-07-22
MIsGE DIRIGlBLE CoLLApsEs.
Five Horribly Manglcd Under Air.
ship Driven by st. Louis Winner.

ship Driven by st. Louis Winner.
Leichlingen Rhenish Prussia,
July 13.-The dirigible balloon
Erbsloeh, recently refitted for pas
senger service, was destroyed in mid
air to-day through the explosion OF a
benZtne tank, and her inventor, Os-
car Erbsloeh, and his crew of four
men dropped to their death.
The bodies Of the aviators were
frightfully mangled. The gondola
was torn to bits and the motor bur-
led itself beneath the surface of the
ground.
The victims were men we'll known
to all Germans interested in aerial
,feats and ErbslOeh gained an :nter-
4 Sational reputation when in 1907 at
Iouis he won the international
s@S1lin the distance race for BAL
EaQsaaA Erbsloeh was constructed last
ye&'hnd had had dubious career.
The first time 1t aScended it crashed
into a clump of trees and its occu-
pants anrrowly escaped injury.
lew days ago during 4 trial flight
propeller was broken. The bal
loon, which was Of the non-r ri gld
type, had just been made over pre-
Dartatory to the establishment OF
passenger service between Elberfcld
and nearby points. To-day it was
inflated for a final test by the crew.
The ascent was made near Opladen
during fog. There were few eve
witnesses.
The craft was OF the non-rigid
type, 17G feet in length and 33 feet
IN diameter. The motors were of
125 horsepower and drove the air
ship at speed Of 2Sia miles an
hour.
The war department. recently pur-
chased one Of Erbslooh's balloons.
The wreckage fell so heavily that
Ee Sondola was broken to bits and
e motor buried in the ground. The
Hcti were frightfully torn.
\ Daring Arronaut.
Oscar ErbSloch had made many
daring and successful balloon flights.
IN the ST. Louis aerial race. when he
won the international cup which had
been taken the year before by Lieut..
Frank p. Lahm, at Paris. he cover
ed distance Of SIG miles.
Starting'at st. Louis he landed at
Asbury Park, \. j.. two miles far
ther from the point OF ascent than
his nearest competitor, NJ LIE Blame,
OF France. who came down at Her
bertvillc, \. j. ErbslOrh on that oc-
casion piloicd the balloon Pommem.
Across the Alps.
In February. 1909, Erbsloeh made
a remarkable balloon trip across the
Alps. His balloon, the Berlin. re-
manned in the air thirty hours.
reaching maximum altitude ,of
about $4,000 feet. An average tenn
perature Of about - degrees below
zero was experienced.
Erbslorh'S Last Trip.
There were few witnesses of
the accident. According to these the
start was we'll made. The Erbsloeh
rose gracefully. pushing It's way
through the fog to 4 height estimat-
ed at several hundred yards. TO the
onlookcrs the airship appeared to
obey her helm perfectly. Suddenly
there was a loud report AID at the
moment the forcpart OF the vessel
crumplcd up and the gondola was
twisted about until it appeared as
though standing on one end AS the
.aS escaped from the forward com
partmcnt the PROV swaycd down
ward. For Il second tho airship nul-
tered like wounded bird and then
fell swiftly to the earth.
Every Limb Broken.
ErhSloeh and his companions were
killed the second that they struck
the ground. Their heads were bat
tered and every limb broken.
An examination Of the wreckagc
showed that the bcnZinc tank had
burst, tearing to shrcds the rubber
envelope directly above it. The de-
struction OF this envelope caused the
t'how TO collapse. The stern compart-
&mcnt was stll filled with gas when
1T struck the ground.
The death OF IIrhslOeh and his
crew with the destruction Of the bal
loon for which much had been hoped
following closely upon the loss of
Count Heppolin's Deutschland has
caused gloom in aviation circles.
Other Tragedies of Air.
Capt. Rolls, who was killed IN
England Tuesday, was the twelfth
victim OF aviation in hcavier-than-
air machines, the history Of flying
with balloons, plain and dirigib!e,
having death list Of greater length
<sS is own. Fatal accidents with the
hl flying machines include the fol-
/EA%ing in two years.
VSi 8 9OS-Septembcr II - Seliridge,
f&4<. Thos. e., u. S. A., killed IN
fall with Orvillc Wright near Wash
ington.
1909-September 7-Ena Rosso,
AsSalian, killed in Rome IN machine
& Es8@Sp is own invention.
8 #SBe eptembcr 7--Lefebvrc, e., killed
Is&95 Wright machine at Juvissy-Sur-
(Yfge, France.
% Il ON hnn ,lA