List of airship accidents
Encyclopedia
The following is a partial list of airship accidents.
Major accidents
- September 9, 1913. Imperial German Navy L-1Helgoland Island Air DisasterThe Helgoland Island Air Disaster occurred on September 9, 1913, and is traditionally considered the first air disaster involving more than ten fatalities. Manufactured by Zeppelin as the LZ 14, the airship was transfered to the Imperial German Navy on 7 October 1912. As the first airship owned...
. Crashed in a storm. 14 drowned, 6 survivors. - October 17, 1913: Imperial German Navy L-2Johannisthal Air DisasterThe Johannisthal Air Disaster involved one of the first multiple fatality air disasters in history. It involved the Imperial German Navy's L-2 airship manufactured by Zeppelin as the LZ 18. It's test flight resulted in the death of all 28 passengers and crew on board...
. Destroyed during a test flight. All 28 killed. - July 21, 1919. American Wingfoot Air ExpressWingfoot Air Express CrashThe Wingfoot Air Express was a dirigible that crashed into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago on Monday July 21, 1919. The Type FD dirigible, owned by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was transporting people from Grant Park to the White City amusement park...
. Caught fire over downtown Chicago, 2 passengers, one crewmember and 10 people on the ground killed, 2 parachuted to safety. - August 23, 1921. British R38. Built for US and already carrying "ZR-2" markings, broke in half and burned after suffering structural failure during high-speed trials over HullKingston upon HullKingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. 44 killed, 5 survivors. - February 21, 1922. American RomaRoma (airship)- References :NotesBibliography* Tampa Times, February 22, 1922. Page 1.* New York Times, February 22, 1922. Page 1....
(ex-Italian T34). Hit power lines in VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and caught fire. 34 killed, 11 survivors. - December 21, 1923. French DixmudeFrench airship DixmudeThe LZ 114 was an airship of the German Navy, later given to France as war reparation and recommissioned in Navy service as Dixmude. She was lost at sea with all hands on the 21st of December 1923....
(ex ZeppelinZeppelinA Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
LZ114). Caught in storm over Mediterranean and presumably burned in the air. All 44 killed. - September 3, 1925. US Navy USS Shenandoah (ZR-1)USS Shenandoah (ZR-1)USS Shenandoah was the first of four United States Navy rigid airships. It was built in 1922-1923 at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, and first flew in September 1923. It developed the Navy's experience with rigid airships, even making the first crossing of North America by airship...
. Caught in storm over Noble County, OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and broke into several pieces. 14 killed, 29 survivors. - May 25, 1928. Italian semi-rigid ItaliaAirship ItaliaAirship Italia was a semi-rigid airship used by Italian engineer Umberto Nobile in his second series of flights around the North Pole.-Design and specifications:...
. Crashed on return from successful trip to North Pole. 7 killed, 1 survivor perished from exposure, 8 rescued, 6 rescuers lost including Roald AmundsenRoald AmundsenRoald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....
. - October 5, 1930. British experimental design R101R101R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airship completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Ministry-appointed team and was effectively in competition...
. Dove into ground during rainstorm in France. 48 killed, 8 survivors. - April 4, 1933 USS AkronUSS Akron (ZRS-4)USS Akron was a helium-filled rigid airship of the United States Navy that was lost in a weather-related accident off the New Jersey coast early on April 4, 1933, killing 73 of the 76 crew and passengers on board...
. Lost at sea off coast of New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in severe storm due to instrument error. 73 dead, 3 survivors. - 1934 Soviet Union W-7 bis.
- February 12, 1935. USS MaconUSS Macon (ZRS-5)USS Macon was a rigid airship built and operated by the United States Navy for scouting. She served as a "flying aircraft carrier", launching Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk biplane fighters. In service for less than two years, in 1935 Macon was damaged in a storm and lost off California's Big Sur coast,...
crashed off coast of Point Sur, Monterey, CaliforniaMonterey, CaliforniaThe City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
after crosswinds broke an already damaged section. 2 dead, 81 survivors. - May 6, 1937. German HindenburgHindenburg disasterThe Hindenburg disaster took place on Thursday, May 6, 1937, as the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, which is located adjacent to the borough of Lakehurst, New Jersey...
burned on landing at LakehurstNaval Air Engineering Station LakehurstJB MDL Lakehurst is a United States Navy base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Lakehurst is under the jurisdiction of the Naval Air Systems Command...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. 35 dead, 1 on ground killed, 62 survivors. - February 5, 1938. Soviet SSSR-V6 OSOAVIAKhIM - 13 out of 19 crew died after crashing into a mountain 300 km south of MurmanskMurmanskMurmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
on a practice flight for an arctic rescue mission. - July 6, 1960. A US Navy ZPG-3W crashed into the sea off New Jersey. 18 of the 21 crew were killed.
1910s
- 17 November 1915: Imperial German Navy ZeppelinZeppelinA Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
, L 18, LZ52, destroyed in shed fire at Tondern during refilling. - 12 December 1917 - North Sea classNS class blimpThe British NS class blimps were the largest and last in a succession of non-rigid airship designs that served with the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I; developed from experiences gained with earlier classes to operate off the east coast of Britain on long-range patrols...
blimp N.S.5 sets off for RNAS East Fortune, but both engines fail within sight of her destination, and she drifts with the wind for about 10 miles (16.1 km) before they can be restarted. However, since both engines continue to be troublesome it is decided to make a "free balloon" landing, but the ship is damaged beyond repair during the attempt. - 2 July 1919: US Navy blimp C-8 explodes while landing at Camp HolabirdCamp HolabirdFort Holabird was a U.S. Army post in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was used as an Armed Forces Examining & Entrance Station. It closed in 1973.-History:...
, Maryland, injuring ~80 adults and children who were watching it. Windows in homes a mile away are shattered by the blast. - 15 July 1919 - Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
North Sea classNS class blimpThe British NS class blimps were the largest and last in a succession of non-rigid airship designs that served with the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I; developed from experiences gained with earlier classes to operate off the east coast of Britain on long-range patrols...
airship N.S.11 burns over the North SeaNorth SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
off NorfolkNorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England, killing twelve. In the early hours of 15 July on what was officially supposed to be a mine-hunting patrol, she was seen to fly beneath a long "greasy black cloud" off Cley next the SeaCley next the SeaCley next the Sea is a village on the River Glaven in Norfolk, England, 4 miles north-west of Holt and east of Blakeney. The main A149 coast road runs through the centre of the village, causing congestion in the summer months due to the tight, narrow streets. It lies within the Norfolk Coast AONB...
on the Norfolk coast and a massive explosion was heard shortly after. A vivid glare lasted for a few minutes as the burning airship descended, and finally plunged into the sea after a second explosion. There were no survivors, and the findings of the official Court of Enquiry were inconclusive, but amongst other possibilities it was thought that a lightning strike may have caused the explosion. - Fall 1919 - A CaquotAlbert CaquotAlbert Caquot was considered as the "best living French engineer" during half a century. He received the “Croix de guerre 1914-1918” and was Grand-croix of the Légion d’Honneur...
Type R observation balloon, manufactured by GoodyearGoodyearGoodyear may relate to:* Charles Goodyear , inventor of vulcanized rubber* Gary Goodyear, Canadian politician*Joseph Goodyear* Julie Goodyear, British television actress* Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company...
, being deflated at Fort SillFort SillFort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
, Oklahoma, explodes, with 24 soldiers handling sand bags on the leeward side of the balloon receiving burns. A dramatic photo exists of men bolting away from the airship as it ignites. Nearly 1,000 were manufactured in 1918-1919. A Type R is displayed at the National Museum of the United States Air ForceNational Museum of the United States Air ForceThe National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
, thought to be the sole survivor of some manufactured in Great Britain during WW II.
1920s
- 19 June 1920 - US Navy Goodyear airship D-1, A4450, is destroyed by fire at the Goodyear Wingfoot Lake Airship Base, Suffield Township, Portage County, OhioSuffield Township, Portage County, OhioSuffield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 6,383 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships and municipalities:...
. - 23 March 1921 - In an all-night training flight, a US Navy free balloon A-5597 launches from NAS Pensacola, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, with five crew and drifts over the Gulf of MexicoGulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. Two messages received by pigeon indicate it first is 20 miles from St. Andrews Bay, then that all ballast had been dropped and that it was at 100 feet and descending. On 8 April 1921, a fishing vessel finds the balloon floating on the sea, with the gondola three and a half fathoms under water. Nothing is ever found of Chief Quartermaster E.W. Wilkinson, enlisted men R.V. Wyland, E.L. Kershaw, and J.P. Elder, and Marine Corps member W.H. Tressey. - 7 July 1921 - US Navy Airship C-3 burns at Naval Air Station Hampton Roads, Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
- 17 October 1922 - U.S. Army's largest blimp, C-2, catches fire shortly after being removed from its hangar at Brooks FieldBrooks City-BaseBrooks City-Base was a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas, southeast of Downtown San Antonio.In 2002 Brooks Air Force Base was renamed Brooks City-Base when the property was conveyed to the Brooks Development Authority as part of a unique project between local, state,...
, San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
for a flight. Seven of eight crew aboard are injured, mostly in jumping from the craft. This accident was made the occasion for official announcement by the Army and the Navy that the use of hydrogen would be abandoned "as speedily as possible." On 14 September 1922, the C-2 had made the first transcontinental airship flight, from Langley Field, Virginia, to Foss Field, California, under the command of Maj. H. A. Strauss.
1930s
- 4 April 1933 US Navy airship J-3 A7382 lost in surf off New Jersey coast with two crew killed while looking for USS Akron survivors.
1940s
- 16 August 1942 - Designated Flight 101. The two experienced crew of the US Navy blimp L-8 disappeared without explanation during the flight giving it the name "The Ghost Blimp." The blimp drifted inland from its Pacific patrol route, striking the ground left its depth chargeDepth chargeA depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
armament on the beach, and then lifted high again and drifted further inland until crashing on a downtown street in Daly City, CaliforniaDaly City, CaliforniaDaly City is the largest city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a 2010 population of 101,123. Located immediately south of San Francisco, it is named in honor of businessman and landowner John Daly.-History:...
. The gondola door had been latched open, and the safety bar which was normally used to block the doorway was no longer in place. Two of the three life jackets on board were missing, but these would have been worn by the two crew during flight, as regulations required. A year after their disappearance the pilots were officially declared dead. - 19 April 1944 - US Navy airship K-133, of ZP-22, operating out of NAS HoumaHouma-Terrebonne AirportHouma-Terrebonne Airport is a public airport located three miles southeast of the central business district of Houma, a city in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is owned by the Houma-Terrebonne Airport Commission....
, Louisiana, was caught in a thunderstorm while patrolling over the Gulf of MexicoGulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. It went down and twelve of thirteen crew were lost; the sole survivor was recovered after spending 21 hours in the water. - 21 April 1944 - The southeast door of blimp hangar at NAS Houma, Louisiana, was chained open due to a fault. A gust of wind carried three Goodyear ZNP-K airships, all of ZP-22, out into the night; K-56 traveled 4.5 miles before crashing into trees, K-57, exploded and burnt 4 miles from the air station, K-62, fetched up against high-tension powerlines a quarter mile away and burnt. K-56 was salvaged, repaired at GoodyearGoodyear Tire and Rubber CompanyThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
at Akron, OhioAkron, OhioAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, repaired and returned to service.
1980s
- 8 October 1980 The 170-foot EA-1 JordacheJordacheJordache Enterprises, Inc. is a clothing company that manufactures apparel including shirts, jeans, and outerwear...
blimp, N5499A, leased by Jordache Enterprises Co., crashes at Naval Air Engineering Station LakehurstNaval Air Engineering Station LakehurstJB MDL Lakehurst is a United States Navy base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Lakehurst is under the jurisdiction of the Naval Air Systems Command...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
on its maiden flight. With an 0815 hrs. launch, and a flightplan to Teterboro AirportTeterboro AirportTeterboro Airport is a general aviation relief airport located in the Boroughs of Teterboro, Moonachie, and Hasbrouck Heights in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It is owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey...
and thence to a ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
photo shoot, the airship, weighed down with gold and burgundy paint, reaching 600 feet altitude, begins an unplanned right descending turn, with pilot James Buza, 40, making a "controlled descent" into a garbage dump, impaling the blimp on a pine tree, coming down a quarter mile from the site of the HindenburgLZ 129 HindenburgLZ 129 Hindenburg was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume...
's 1937 demise. Buza, the only complement, is unhurt. According to the NTSB report, the cause was poor design. The pilot also had zero hours experience in the type.
- 1 July 1986 The experimental Helistat 97-34J crashes at Naval Air Engineering Station LakehurstNaval Air Engineering Station LakehurstJB MDL Lakehurst is a United States Navy base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Lakehurst is under the jurisdiction of the Naval Air Systems Command...
in Lakehurst, New JerseyLakehurst, New JerseyLakehurst is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 2,654.Lakehurst was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 7, 1921, from portions of Manchester Township, based on the results of a...
after completing a test flight, killing one.
1990s
- 4 July 1993 US LTA 138S airship Bigfoot, which bore the Pizza Hut logo crashed on top of buildings in Manhattan. The cause included inadequate FAA standards according to the NTSB report.
- 1 July 1998 Icarus Aircraft Inc. / American Blimp Corporation ABC-A-60, N760AB, encountered severe downdraft on positioning flight from Williamsport, Pennsylvania to Youngstown, Ohio, and was substantially damaged when it impacted trees at 1105 hrs. during uncontrolled descent ~eight miles (~13 km) NW of Piper Memorial , near Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. After being blown from treetop to treetop for about ten minutes, gondola settled in a tree about 40 feet (12 m) in the air and the two pilots exited uninjured and climbed down the tree. Some fifteen minutes later the airship was blown another 900 feet (275 m) before coming to rest.
- 28 October 1999 The Goodyear blimpGoodyear BlimpThe Goodyear Blimp is the collective name for a fleet of blimps operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for advertising purposes and for use as a television camera platform for aerial views of sporting events...
GZ-22 "Spirit of Akron", N4A, crashed in Suffield Township, Ohio, when it suddenly entered an uncontrolled left turn and began descending. The pilot and technician on board received only minor injuries when the blimp impacted with trees. The NTSB reported the probable cause as being improperly hardened metal splines on the control actuators shearing and causing loss of control.
2000s
- 16 June 2005 The Goodyear blimpGoodyear BlimpThe Goodyear Blimp is the collective name for a fleet of blimps operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for advertising purposes and for use as a television camera platform for aerial views of sporting events...
GZ-20A named the "Stars and Stripes", N1A, crashed shortly after take off in Coral Springs, FloridaCoral Springs, FloridaCoral Springs, officially chartered July 10, 1963, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 121,096...
. No one was injured. Bad weather may have been a factor in the incident. - 26 September 2006 The Hood blimp, an American Blimp Corporation A-60, crashed into a wooded area of Manchester-by-the-Sea, MassachusettsManchester-by-the-Sea, MassachusettsManchester-by-the-Sea is a town on Cape Ann, in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 5,228.-History:...
. The airship left Beverly Municipal Airport at about 1215 hrs. Shortly after, the pilot started to have problems, and he tried to land on Singing Beach, but instead got caught in some trees near Brookwood Road. The pilot was not injured.
2010s
- 14 June 2011 a Goodyear BlimpGoodyear BlimpThe Goodyear Blimp is the collective name for a fleet of blimps operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for advertising purposes and for use as a television camera platform for aerial views of sporting events...
operated by The Lightship Group in ReichelsheimReichelsheimReichelsheim is the name of two communes in Hesse, Germany*Reichelsheim *Reichelsheim...
, Germany caught fire and crashed, resulting in the death of Michael Nerandzic, an experienced pilot whose last-minute actions saved the lives of his three passengers. - 15 August 2011, the Hanger-1 blimp operated by The Lightship Group broke free of its mooring in Worthington, Ohio, crash landing in a yard. No injuries.