Back on this day in 1933 a fatal crash occurred but because of the Hindenburg you don't ever hear about it. The Dirigible(never thought I would use that word in a sentence) Akron crashed in New Jersey killing 73. Okay, technically it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean but the Navy was using it to gather data over New Jersey because as we all know there is a lot of Data over New Jersey and it's important to gather it, especially back in 1933 with all of the data that was flying around(some of which floated down from New York). Was Newark as nasty back then as it is today? Here is the strange thing about this Dirigible(holy crap twice in one day, by the way, it's a fancy term for Blimp). So, here's the strange thing about the blimp Akron. It was built, and at the time the largest blimp, in 1931. It proceeded to be involved in a fatal accident in 1932(yes a year after it was built). What happened you ask? It was traveling from New Jersey(hhhmmm) to Camp Kearny military base near San Diego (hhmmm, military base...) when along comes this blow hard named Mother Nature and she kicks up some "High Winds" well, think about a big balloon blowing around in the wind... So, of course, here is what you do: You get thirty of your closest friends to grab ropes that dangle from the blimp and have them pull the big balloon down to the ground and then you tie it off job done, right, right. Well, I don't know about you but when I get to friend number 28, 29, and 30 they aren't exactly the smartest... okay smart maybe but common sense not so much. Anyway, everyone grabs the ropes and the wind kicks up and everyone lets go of the ropes because the big balloon heads toward the heavens... you guessed it, except for the three geniuses... Two of them let go when they hit the 200 feet off the ground mark and low and behold they died(it wasn't the fall that killed them, it was the sudden stop) and the third genius, get this, held on for two hours while they tried to shake him at 2000 feet above the ground. They finally decided he wasn't going to let go so they landed and let him live. Back to 1933.
You would think they would have learned a lesson, they see a big thunderstorm coming in off the beautiful coast of New Jersey and the order comes in.. Send up the Akron! And because of "miscommunication" instead of going around the storm, cause it was well known that storms could cause problems for Dirigibles(three times) duh, they head right into the storm(these people were idiots). Suddenly, the blimp drops 1000 feet, the captain orders the ballast to be released(fancy term for water, 73 plus people on board, was it really water?) so the blimp heads UP... well, needless to say, control was lost and the Akron suffered its fate killing 73. In their infinite wisdom they sent out a rescue airship, the J-3(remember...storms + blimps=bad) Yes, it also crashed killing two of seven on board. Amazing thing about the Akron's commander, he survived and went on to pilot the Exxon Valdez(okay so that part isn't true but it wouldn't surprise me.) I guess the question that has to be asked... was the blimp jinxed or were the people commanding the blimp just that stupid.. going for the record for an accident a year and miscalculated when they crashed into the ocean.
have a Great Day! Ask, Believe, Receive!
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