The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-07-13
Bodies Frightfully Mangled
After Fall of Nearly
One Mile
FAMOUS SCIENTIST
IS AMONG VICTIMS
German Aviator and Author Well
known in America-Made
St. Louis to New Jersey
Flight.

COLOGNE, GERMANY. July r.
German scientist and author and four
companions were dashed to death to-
day near Pattscheid, West Germany.
when their dirigible balloon. the
"Erbsloeh," named after it's inventor
and constructor. fell from height
of Ave thousand feet Five heaps OF
crushed flesh and bones. absolutely
unrecognI=a DIG. lay beneath the de-
bris of the wrecked balloon when
those who had witnessed the fan
reached the spot.
The dirigible Erbsloeh belonged to
the Rhine Aerial Club. It resembled
a miniature Zeppelin dirigibIe. being
but one-sixth the size OF the airship
OF the famous inventor. The Erbs-
ioeh consisted OF twelve baiIonetts
placed side by side in rigid ana
covered frame. like the water-tight
compartments OF snip A long
aluminium ear for the engines ana
passengers was swung below the gas
bags. The car contained Two gaso-
line engines of high power. which
drove the fore and aft propellers
that gave Roadway 10 the airship.
The Erbsloeh had made several
emlnentIN- s41.4.sSsfti+ short Hts hts ami
was regarded as one of the best
types OF modern dirtgtbles. being tar
less cumbersome than the monster
Zeppelin
The dirigible went alort early to-
day from Dusseldorf, from which
point the Inflated Zeppelin passenger
liner started her last voyage. In the
aluminium car were Erhsloen and two
companions. together with the two
chaatreurs, whose duty IT was to take
care CT the gasoline engines
Gas Rag Burst.
While near Fattscheid one OF the
ballooDetts in the great balloon burst
and in twinAiing all the gas bags
had been toTn TO bits. The heavy
car and the fragments of the gas bag
fell like "A plummet. Erbaloen and
his companions fell five thousand feet
to instant death. Physicians who
examined the bodies declare they
never saw human forms 81 horribly
nangled,
The dlrigihae vas so completely
wrecked by the mile fan that Il Is
impossible 10 learn Just what caused
the fatal accident. The disaster In
all its details resembles the one
which hefell the French army dirt
gible several months ago, when Eve
French officers met death by the
collapse Of the gas bag
The fatal voyage had lasted only
forty-fiNe minutes, The atrigihle was
almost over the village Of PattsCheid
in the Rhine proylnce----
Balloonists are divided as II the
proha bile cause Of the accident Some
believe that the suns rays expanded
the gas in the hailnonetts until they
could no longer stand the strain,
while other believe that one Of Lbs
125-horsepower gasoline motors ex-
ploded.
Known In America.
Herr Oscar Erhsioeh. the aviator.
was we'll known In the United States.
having piloted the German balloon
Pommerin In the international bal
loon races held in ST. Louis in 1907.
The Pommerin f-,-e in ST, Louis
and landed in New Jersey. coming
down only because the ocean had
been reached. For this flight the
longest Of the race. Erbsloeh won
the James Gordon bennett cup. the
first prize.
On February ., 1859. Eresloeh.
with three companions made der-
ing flight across the Alps, rising from
st. Moritz and remaining in the air
thirty three hours landing near Bud
apest,
The aeronid in the Pommerin this
trip showed that one time the bal
loon had reached a height of 1900
feet, nearly four miles.
The Erbsloeh. in which the TvYator
met death to-day. had Il capacity OF
5000 cubic meters of hydrogen gas.
When Erbslceh and his companions
rose, before the sun had come out,
IL was noted that the gas bags were
completely fun. II Is therefore high
~ probable that the fteat OF the sun.
expanding the volatile gas. caused
TOO great a strain on the bags, which
exploded