poster "deuce" EXPLODES
Pilot killed but three passengers manage incredible escape as Goodyear blimp plunges to the ground in Germany
By Allan Hall
Last updated at 11:30 AM on 13th June 2011
A Goodyear blimp burst into flames and plunged to earth in a weekend crash in Germany.
The pilot was killed but three passengers managed to jump to safety when the airship caught fire as it was coming in to land at the Reichelsheim aerodrome near Friedberg.
When the airship was just six metres from the floor, the pilot told his passengers, all journalists, to jump to the ground while he tried to land safely.
Once the three had leapt clear of the blimp it climbed back up to 120 feet before being engulfed by flames
The pilot managed to get near enough the ground for passengers to escape before climbing back up
Plunge: The Goodyear blimp falls to the ground after the incident in Friedberg, Germany on Sunday night
Witnesses reported hearing a loud noise from the engine and smelling petrol fumes.
One eyewitness said: 'We could also hear the cries of the doomed pilot as the fire surrounded him. It was terrible.'
The journalists who escaped were a photographer from Germany's Bild newspaper and two from RTL television.
More...
The crash happened at 8.30pm on Sunday night after the airship had made a round trip for the pressmen to take photos of the state of Hessen.
Germany led the world in airship technology in the first half of the last century. Its most famous airship was the Zeppelin - named after the man who invented it.
The Zeppelin was a rigid airship, meaning it has an internal structural framework, whereas blimps are non-rigid and there shape is maintained solely by internal air pressure.
One of the best-known Zeppelins was the Hindenburg which crossed the Atlantic to New Jersey on May 6 1937, but caught fire as it was trying to land, causing the deaths of 35 people.
The crash put an end to the age of airship travel but the craft have made a comeback in Germany in recent years as tourist magnets.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1PDLAZT8g
By Allan Hall
Last updated at 11:30 AM on 13th June 2011
A Goodyear blimp burst into flames and plunged to earth in a weekend crash in Germany.
The pilot was killed but three passengers managed to jump to safety when the airship caught fire as it was coming in to land at the Reichelsheim aerodrome near Friedberg.
When the airship was just six metres from the floor, the pilot told his passengers, all journalists, to jump to the ground while he tried to land safely.
Once the three had leapt clear of the blimp it climbed back up to 120 feet before being engulfed by flames
The pilot managed to get near enough the ground for passengers to escape before climbing back up Plunge: The Goodyear blimp falls to the ground after the incident in Friedberg, Germany on Sunday nightWitnesses reported hearing a loud noise from the engine and smelling petrol fumes.
One eyewitness said: 'We could also hear the cries of the doomed pilot as the fire surrounded him. It was terrible.'
The journalists who escaped were a photographer from Germany's Bild newspaper and two from RTL television.
More...
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The crash happened at 8.30pm on Sunday night after the airship had made a round trip for the pressmen to take photos of the state of Hessen.
Germany led the world in airship technology in the first half of the last century. Its most famous airship was the Zeppelin - named after the man who invented it.
The Zeppelin was a rigid airship, meaning it has an internal structural framework, whereas blimps are non-rigid and there shape is maintained solely by internal air pressure.
One of the best-known Zeppelins was the Hindenburg which crossed the Atlantic to New Jersey on May 6 1937, but caught fire as it was trying to land, causing the deaths of 35 people.
The crash put an end to the age of airship travel but the craft have made a comeback in Germany in recent years as tourist magnets.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1PDLAZT8g
...you hit the nail flush on the head....
