Evening star., 1921-10-09
FIND IRIS DESIGN
j LACKED SCRUTINY
British Committee Says Di-
=. rigibIe Was Structural
Iy Weak.
By the Associated Press.

ny tne Associated tress
LONDON. October THE design of
the dirigible ZR-2, which came to
grief in the Humber river at Hull in
September, should have been exam
ined and discussed by an official COM
petent committee before it's actual
construction was commenced, de-
clares a report of the court of in
quiry which investigated the dis
aster. issued today. The report adds
that there is no evidence to SNOW
that this was done, and finds that
the accident was due to structural
weakness.
The report was issued together with
a communication from the admiralty,
which says the admiralty is conduct
ing a full investigation into the his
tory and design of the airship and
the initial stages of it's construction
up to October, 1919, when it's re-
sponsibility for the design and con-
struction of airships was transferred
communication adds that the result
of this investigation will be publish
ed in due course.
Would Suspend Judgment.
In connection with the publication
of the report. the air ministry ap-
pends a statement that the air coun-
Gill; while it considers that reasonable
ldS DtSh iCdCiiCt oo ~
what actually happened when the ac-
cident occurred and as to the sequence
of events, it is the councirs opinion
that judgment must be suspended on
further points raised by the report
until the work of investigation by
the aeronautical research committee,
which already has been begun, is
concluded.
The report is signed by Air Vice
Marshal Sir j. NJ. Salmond as preSl-
I. ri
bers OF the court. 1t notes that Com
mander Horace p. Dyer, U. S. N, rep
resented the American Navy at the
inquiry.
The opinion of the court is that the
airShip, while flying at approx! 'ately
1900 feet over the Humber, broke in
two, due to the failure of the struc-
ture to the rear of the after engine
cars while being subjected to con-
troll tests.
Fire Mainly Responsible.
The findings of the court of inquiry
confirm evidence introduced at the
inquest into the disaster. They say
that fire, probably originating from a
spark from electric wires, was main
ly responsible for the large loss of
life. They note that a quick reversal
was being made at the time of the
accident, bringing d heavy strain on
the after portion of the hull of the
craft. due to the swing of the stern.
Then the court found, among other
things, that 1.-The requirements as to
maximum height and speed. together
with a limit in length imposed by the
only available construction sheds,
necessitated the utmost economy in
design. and it appears evident that in
some cases there was lack of vital
aerodynamical information as to the
effect of these notifications on the
strength of the structure"
Declaring that there was no evil
dence the committee examined which
discussed the design of the airship.
the report of the court of inquiry
adds that opportunity to study de-
signs arose after the armistice. when
information as to the details of ships
built elsewhere became available.
The court, while finding that there
was one parachute available for every
person on board the ZR-2, asserts
that no survivor of the disaster owed
his escape to parachute.