Evening star., 1933-05-26
Uncertainty in Akron Report
Leaves Permanent Mystery

While Congress has undertaken to
solve the mystery Of the disaster to the
dirigible Akron of the United States
Navy, public estimates of the official
report indicate that there Is a tendency
to believe that the question Of possible
error will never be answered. Com
mander Frank C. McCord receives the
benefit of the doubt.
The secret of the Akron" in the
opinion Of the Newark Evening News,
'if at any time there was tang
ible evidence that human shortcoming
was responsible for the crashing of the
giant fabric into the sea, died with her.
1t seems doubtful that Congressional in
quiry can yield any new facts" The
Evening News concludes as to the
future of these craft of the air: THE
Akron is gone, and time has tempered
the distress which followed the loss of
the ship and her officers and crew.
Undaunted, her sister ship, the Macon,
has taken her maiden and several sub
sequent flights. Airplanes are follow
ing the air lanes Of this and other
nations. Private ownership of planes
increases as progress makes these
heavier -than-air craft simpler, more
airworthy and more dependable. The
Prince Of Wales takes his first trip in
his new ten-passenger plane, as lux
urious as a yacht. Arriving from his
native Spain, the inventor Of the auto
giro Is honOred by one Of Americas
oldest scientific societies for his contri-
buttons to safety in flight. Thus the
puny wings sprouted by humans so
Oh -. lie
aster fails utterly to clip them
"A down current of wind of great
force struck the dirigible," says the
Dayton Daily News, forcing it to the
water before the downward course
ship of the air. Commander McCord
contributed to the tragedy by not set
ting such courses as would have kept
him in the safe semi-circle' and thus
avoiding the storm conditions which de-
stroyed his craft. From this latter con-
clusion of the court Admiral Pratt and
the Secretary of the Navy dissent. So
ends. the tale. There are twistings and
turnings and boilings and churnings Of
the air above us which are not dreamed
OF in the philosophy of the people on
the ground"
only three eye-witnesSes to the ac-
cideEt survive" observes the New York
Sun Their stories. told before the
naval court of inquiry, showed how
little can be seen by any one person
Of an accident Of that sort, which in a
few seconds destroys an airship of
enormous size. Though there were
more than a score of survivors of the
destruction of the Shenandoah, the
court of inquiry which sat in that case
was not able to piece together con-
vincing mosaic from the testimony
given"
mo general agreement on important
points" Is seen by the Lincoln State
Journal, declaring that the investigation
achieved very little-that information
is meager and opinions ON questions in
yolyed vary greatly" The Providence
Journal believes that ito the general
public large question Is as to whether
there is anything intrinsically defective
in the Akron type of dirigible airship."
That paper remarks that in the mean
time. the Graf Zeppelin goes on her
extraordinary way. carrying mail and
passengers between Europe and South
America" On the conclusions of the
inquiry, the Journal recalls: Admiral
Pratt, chief of naval operations, and
Secretary of the Navy Swanson, while
approving the report of the court Of
inquiry in the main, disagree with its
opinion concerning the commander OF
the airship. Admiral Pratt holds that