The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-06-29
Gigantic Dirigible Wrecked in
German Forest; Passen-
gers Escape.
HIGH WIND IS CAUSE
OF FAILURE OF VOYAGE
General Manager, Who Guided
Craft, Has Not Lost Faith
Through Accident.

DUSSELDORF. Germany. June Is
Count Eeppelin's passenger airship
Deutschland, the greatest OF all the fam
Gus aeronants models, /iies tonight in the
Teutoburgian forest, pierced by pine
trees, a mass Of Debated silk and twisted
aluminium. The thrty-three persons
aboard the aIrship when it struck the
pines after Il wild contest with a storm,
escaped uninjured, climbing down from
the wreck on u rope ladder
Herr Colesmanns general manager OF
the new airship company. Chief Engineer
Duers OF the Zeppelin company, and Cap
crew OF ten and twenty newspapermen,
sailed from Dusseldorf at $50 o'clock this
morning for thrce-hours' excursion.
The objective point was Dortmund,
about thlrty-hve miles from Dusseldorf,
but high head OF wind prevailed and
an effort was made TO reach Hunstcr, a
garrison town, so that landing might lie
made on the parade grounds with the aid
would require large number OF men TO
hold the vast contriyauce OF silk and
metal against the wind.
Powerless Against Gale.
In the high wind one of the motors re-
fused TO work and the other Two did not
way in the gale. The airship drifted.
swaying in the violent gusts and some
times leaning TO an angle of 10 degrees
All the while the enginemen were at
work repairing the disabled motor, When
this was done all four screws were driven
at their full power. Under normal condi-
lions. the engines were capable OF driy-
Ing the alrship at speed OF forty miles
an hour but the helmsman was unable
to keep his course and the great craft
was swung about at the mercy OF the
winds.
Colesman did not dare TO come about
fn,, FSur Of .f,tt.,1 iFs1 nd Ia,
drift with the gale toward Osnabruck,
also Il garrison station. II he missed that
he expected to continue on TO Senne,
Suddenly he perceived a whrlwiud COM
ing. and aScendcd TO a height of nearly
1000 feet to avoid the center OF II. With
the whirlwind came Il heavy doNnpour or
rain After half an hour the Deutsch-
land came down to permit observations,
and il was seen that the Teutohurgian
forest lay below. The forward motor
stopped again. and Colesman sent five
of the correspondents to the art sondola
10 ballast the vessel.
Thrilling Experiences.
The Deutschland sank rapidly. having
lost much gas in the high altitude. and
dragged along the top of the dense for
est. \ beavy branch OF tree broke
through the bottom of the cabin. amid
ships throwing two of the guests To the
floor. other branches ripped through
the gas compartments and the whole
great structure settled down thirty Of
forty feet from the ground.
1T Is not the fault Of the Zeppelin sys-
tenn exclaimed Herr Colesmann, that
is all right. 1t is our own fault II our
ben2inc ran out"
The airship. for which Herr Coles
manns company had just paid Sl3I 500.
looked like a wreck. The frames were
broken, but the motors were not dam
aged. The silk was ripped and had fallen
in n torn mass on the tops Of the trees.
Reports Of disaster explosion and
death were widely spread party OF
officers and surgeons came by automo-
bile from Iburg and the district governor
and his wife arrived al the scene within
half an hour by special train. COM
pany OF infantry was sent from Osna-
bruck and piclteted the wreckagc.
The disaster occurred at haif-past hVe
o clock this afternoon. In the early part
of the Journey the arship maintained an
altitude of about 500 feet, and the pas
enjoying the new sensation; eN-
pressed contempt for the tiain rumol>ns
= of date.