AIRSHIP HORROR.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 271, 13 November 1909, Page 17

AIRSHIP HORROR.

- r».__ *- An accident which destroyed the Frenc-. Goverom-ent. airship La Republlque and her erewof four, has shock__l.air'France, nnd ' reminded us ofj-the-pertis; of the voting science of- aerial w_vigationv writes a Paris correspondent on S-pt_.mUe-.'".r_s. Th. ._rr9t..."new3.rfSm.-__dnullns reached -Paris abpnt lalf-l_gt tell ***-bn Saturday morntag,-aad-was :? ;o__muhicated at once to President FalilereVwho at the "-moment wa« inaugurating the A-rohatrti.' Exhibition in the Grand Palais. The disaster "had happened exactly" af -f-ur.ty'fiv- ffilhutes past eight, when the airship hn.tr. been little over an S_our and a half on her return voyage from Lapalisse- to Paris, • ■-, - La Republlque was-passlng over the Chateau D'AvrMy at Ttevol when a screwblade"'".happed Sft;* hew upwards, and roro lopen ifiie -airship's- Mi, otherwise her envelope. There wits a load report like a cannon shot. Down Came the airship, a crumpled-up fluttering wreck, with, lightning speed. Hundreds of spectators saw exactly What •had- happened. While they were'rooted with horror to the spot the wreck lay on the ground. Not a sign of life* *«s titer-. There was only the dull tremendous thud of the mass of wreckage, Weighing four tons, and then ail wits .till. With gl-eat aiffleulty the bodies of tha four voyagers were extracted from beneaSi the wreck. They were terribly mangled. Captaia Karghal was found in a pitting position, his chest bent double. lieut, Chaure's body Was almost In pieces. T3_» two mechanicians, Jl. "\"itveennot and __v ■; Reau, were crushed beneath the motor, which had to be raised hy lovers before -"_• bodies could be-recovered. * - AERONAUTS' PRESENCE OP JIIND. The expert who has examined the wrecked balloon, as also those who witnessed the descent, say that immediately after th* explosion Captain llsircl-.nl and his _">__- ponions stopped the motor. The purpos* in doing this, it is suggested, must kav» been to prevent any. further disaster wlieh ,fhe airship struck the ground immediate!", below them, on which many speetatoft . Were congregated. It Is also Btated that the doomed mien had a few brief momeiits for reflection before the balloon struck -*-• earth, and this respite they utilised in fre_ihg themselves as much As possible from ■the gear in the car. the Airship and her crew. La Republique was the sister ship _» La Patrie, -which broke away 'In a wlhil storm, drifted to the Atlantic,, and wa» never seen again. She was about 230 ft In length, and 42ft in Width." She- carried a 70 hup. motor. She made her first -ascent in June last year. Saturday's wait her eighty-first. Her pilot, Captain llarchal, was a highly intelligent, skilled officer. He was 47; ahS ':' unmarried. Lieut. Chaure, 38, also nnm_,rried, wa*" a promising officer, promoted from the ranks. The two mechanicians -were matried. Their f am-ilies live at Moulins, clott to the scene of this terrible disaster.