The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1922-02-24
THIRTY-FOUR Death
TOLL IN AIR wreck
Airship Roma In Flames AS
1t Crashes To Earth,
u Prevents Rescue.


iSred seriously and three were UNI
injured or only slightly bruised when
the giant army airship Roma, with
her crew and a number of civilians,
totaling forty-five in all. aboard,
plunged today from a thousand feet
or more in the air to the ground at
the Hampton Roads naval base.
The accident presumably was
caused by broken rudder and as the
huge dirigible plunged to earth 1t
capsized across a high-tension cleo
trio line, bursting into roaring fur
mace OF blazing hydrogen gas.
Long after dark tonight. many
hours after her fall. the ship was
still a mass of flames from end to
end of her 41G-foot mass. The fire
fed on the million cubic feet of gas
which distended the great bag for
the flight and made all attempts at
rescue work futile.
Barely a dozen OF those aboard
were picked up dilNV' anu N"N "
these died on the way to the hos
pital. All of those who survived the
fire escaped by jumping as the ship
struck. The others. penned in the
hull of the fallen bag. were burned
TO death.
Thirty-thrce Bodies Found.
The flames finally were brought in
TO submission by three fire depart
nights, who fought them with chemi-
cars. And then derricks began pick
ing up the wreckage, which consist
ed of scarcely more than the alumni
mum framework and the six Liberty
motors of the once proud ship OF the
air. Within the wreckage lay the
bodies, practically all charred beyond
recognition. But before the night
had passed thirty-three bodies had
been removed accounting for the last
of those who were known to have tax
en- flight on the fatal voyage.
Accounts OF survivors and OF eye
witnesses as to what had happened
appeared to agree tonight that the
huge kite-like structure OF the stern
rudder, itself as large as a bomb
ing plane, had slipped to one side as
the Roma drove along thousand
feet above the army base.
She was making trial flight with
a new battery of Liberty motors
They were installed to replace ltal-
ian engines bought with her in Italy
but which have not proved satisfac-
tory. Installation was completed at
Langley Field two weeks ago.
II was Just before 2 o'clock when
those below at the army base at
Hampton Roads, their attention
caught by the approaching thunder
of the six motors, looked up to see
the Roma dip down from her straight
flight. They agreed that the rudder
seemed to have slipped bodily down
and to one side.
Missed Safety BY Few Yards.
The ship nosed steeply down. AS
she came closer 1t was seen that heI
crew was hurting out sand from the
ports in the fragile fabric that form
ed the covering of the space between
her keel and back, the living and op'
Grating quarters of the ship. The
dipping blunt nose Of the bag did not
respond. On the ship came, I'M
checked in her glide earthward, head
first. Her commander could not
force her the few hundred feet thai
would have dropped her into the wat
ers of the bay and comparative safe
ty for her people
Below ran the high double wires
of the high power electric line TheS
carried a 1880 volt current. The
Roma's nose, shed with its aluminium
guard. thrust into the wires, broke
them as the ship flattened to earth
and rolled over, and the next moment
came the noise as of an explosion and
the flames burst out along the hui
space.
There was rush of men to the
rescue from the army post and the
navy base beyond.
lust as the Roma nearci me wire'
t,yo men were seen to leap from high
an in her slanting hull. AS the
stricken. flaming monster writhed in
her first death agony ten more drop
ned from doors or ports or thru
holes they tore in the fabric sides
that enclosed them. Some ieapeo
\ from the platform where the engines
stood far out from the hull.
SO swift was the flare OF the gas