The Washington times., 1922-07-26
CREW Of ROMA
|SEXONERATED
IN AIR HORROR
Report Made to Weeks Urges
Main Control Switches and
HeIium In DirigibIes.
BY HARRY L. ROGERS,
international News Service.

BY HARRY L. ROGERS,
international News Service.
The exact cause Of the fatal
plunge of the giant army airship
Roma" which crashed TO earth
near Norfolk, Va, last February,
killing thirty-four of the forty
five persons aboard, can never
be known, according to the off,
cial report Of the investigating
board made public by the War
Department here today.
Essentials Lacking.
Had the Roma" been equipped
with q master switch by which the
officer In command could have stop
ped all his motors instantly, the
catastrophe might have been avert
ed, the report declares, and she also
lacked emergency ballast releases" "
regarded by the board as essential to
the safety Of such aircraft.
II the Roma" had been inflated
with helium instead OF hydrogen,
Undoubtedly the loss of life in this
accident would not have been so
great" the report declares.
The Italian designers and builders
Of the Roma" who appended a
report to that OF the official in
vestigatinE board. disagreed with
the conclusions arrived at by the
Americans. In making public the
report, however. Secretary Of War
Weeks desired II to be undcrstood
that this Is not q matter Of con-
troversy between the American and
italian authorities. The airship
was purchased from the Italian
government.
Cites Six Possible Causes.
The report Of the American boa I'd
sets forth no less than six possible
causes Of the catastrophe, stating
one or all may have been respon-
sible. The investigating hoard in.
clined to the belief. howe ever, that
the fatal dive most likely vas
caused by q ''flattening OF the
nose" Of the airship. and a eonse-
quent yielding Of the keel. which
threw the stabilizers into an alb
normal position and allowed the
nose TO sink.
1T 10 repeated that the ectual
cause. or causes OF the Roma dis
aster cannot be known with abso-
lutte certainty" says the report.
The following seems TO be the best
exr'anation and sets forth the most
probable causes OF the accident:
Due to diffusion Of the ras in
the forward compartment and to
the failure Of the air .,coops to
operate, or TO be operated effective.
ly. the pressure in this comnart-
ment was less than normal, causing
a yielding. a bending backward OF
the metal ribbed nose cap. with the
consequent flattening OF the nose
itself.
This flattenins may have han.
pened gradually or suddenly. On
this flattened surface one compo.
nent OF the air pressure eIerted q
downward influence. The stabilizers
at the tail tended to correct this
downward movement OF the nose
The forces operating az the ends OF
the airship. proportional 10 the rate
Of speed AZ which the Roma was
travelling, brought a heavy strain
upon the keel and this yielded slight.
ly near the rear end. This yielding
threw the stabilizer surfaces IN an
abnormal position and they then at
least partly, ceased to function, and
no longer resisted effectively the
tendency Of the rear Of the Roma
to rise and OF the nose to 20 down"
In arriving at It's conclusion, the
board obtained evidence from all the
survivors and a number OF other
persons who had seen the Roma"
in flight before any trouble devel.
oped and while she was descending.
Fifty witnesses in all were examined
by the board.
In addition. the report Of the board
was submitted to a number Of persons
whose training and experience on
abled them to formulate expert opin.
ions on the causes OF the accident.
Among these was Lieut.. Col. A.
Guidoni. the italian air attache In
Washington. who went to the scene
Of the accident, interviewed wiz.
nesses himself and was given every
facility for Independent investiga-
don.
Italians Give Conclusions.
The italian engineers in their
conclusions as to the causes OF the
disaster declared that due to the
high speed Of the airship and to the
overbalanced elevators, the recall.
ing rubbers", or exercise cords" q"
which were probably over-stressed.