1960 — July 6, US Navy Airship (blimp) envelope tear and crash off Barnegat City, NJ– 18

— 18 Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (140053 to 145061). 11-7-2011.
— 18 Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 81.
— 18 Shock. US Navy Airships 1915-1962: A History by Individual Airship. 1992/2001, p. 194.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “144242 delivered to US Navy Sep 24, 1959. Crashed nose-first into Atlantic off Barnegat City, NJ Jul 6, 1960. 18 of 21 on board killed.” (Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (140053 to 145061). 11-7-2011.)

Gero: “The helium-filled blimp [144242] crashed in the Atlantic Ocean about 10 miles (15km) east of Barnegat City, killing 18 men [about 14:30]. Three other members of the crew, all of whom suffered injuries, were rescued. Searchers later recovered the bodies of 13 victims, all but one of whom had drowned, and most of the airship’s wreckage, which had sunk in water some 75ft (20m) deep.

“According to a Navy investigative report, the accident resulted from the failure of a seam in the envelope, which was apparently related to some factor that degraded the cement adhesion, and the subsequent shearing of the stitching of the fabric. Starting at the top of the envelope, the tear occurred about a third of the way from the front, and after its forward section collapsed, the blimp plunged nose-first into the ocean from an approxi¬mate height of 800ft (250m).

“The weather, which at the time consisted of a broken overcast, a visibility in excess of 10 miles (15km) and a south-south¬easterly wind of around 15 knots, was not consid¬ered a factor.

“Just over 400ft (120m) long, 144242 had been delivered to the Navy less than six months earlier, one of the ZPG-3W class airships designed for the mission of airborne early warning, and at the time of the accident it was searching for two missing yachts, both of which were later found safe. Lighter-than-air operations in the US Navy would end soon afterwards, with the rest of its blimps being retired the following year.” (Gero 1999, pp. 81-82.)

Shock: “At 2:30 PM an accident occurred which caused deflation off the New Jersey coast near Barnegat Bay with the drowning of 18 of the 21 crewmen aboard….There are many stories connected with this crash that probably helped seal the doom of airships in the Navy.

“The reason for the crash seems most likely to have been low envelope pressure, as the airship was witnessed with a sag in the middle several minutes prior to the crash. This indicated the pressure had been allowed to become dangerously low, but low pressure would not by itself cause a tear. The airship apparently buckled, then pitched into the ocean. The impact with the water burst the envelope. After recovery of the wreckage, inspection revealed the rupture did not start in the seam. As is usually the case in such incidents all sorts of other theories were presented from pilot inexperience to improper maintenance. The most logical explanation was presented after extensive investigation by Goodyear. An inexperienced crewman had placed the circuit breakers that controlled air ballonet pressure in an open position while attempting to correct a radar feed pressurization problem. (This was verified in the wreckage of the control car.) The pilot was unaware of this, and he was on automatic control. The loss of pressure was not noticed by the pilot until the nose buckled and the airship pitched down. Also trained in airplanes, the pilot likely instinctively pulled the nose up and gunned the engines. This was the wrong reaction and the nose was forced into the sea.

“A trial for $8,000,000 in damages for 11 of the lost crewmen…opened in the New York City Federal Court 10 April 1967. The suit was brought against Goodyear Aircraft, builder of the airship; Goodyear Tire and Rubber, builder of the envelope fabric; and the Edwards Company, makers of the warning bell to sound an alarm when the helium pressure fell below a certain limit. The basis of the lawsuit was that the airship had plunged into the ocean following a 135 foot long tear of the envelope. They contended the tear was due to an improperly manufactured seam. The suit against Goodyear and Edwards was dropped on the third day of the trial. The Goodyear analysis was not presented to the court due to the harassing objections by the lawyers opposing Goodyear, the length of time it would have taken for all witnesses to testify, and the fact that Goodyear was already absolved of any negligence. The case was dismissed, then appealed to the Supreme Court on 10 April 1968, and finally denied 14 October 1968. The litigation that started 02 March 1961 was not totally resolved until 08 November 1968.

“Not everyone agreed with Goodyear’s analysis. An experienced pilot asked what, other than a massive envelope failure could have caused such sudden loss of lift; it would not have been possible to deliberately fly the airship into the water with such a fatal airplane-like impact. One wonders if Navy officials were really interested at this point in time, as the airships were already scrapped and their facilities gutted or reworked to other purposes.” (Shock. US Navy Airships 1915-1962: A History by Individual Airship. 1992/2001, pp. 194-195.)

Sources

Baugher, Joseph F. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (140053 to 145061). Nov 7, 2011 revision. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries17.html

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.

Shock, James R. US Navy Airships 1915-1962: A History by Individual Airship. Edgewater, FL: Atlantis Productions, 1992, 2001.