Incredible Photos: Goodyear Blimp Crashes in Fiery Ball in Germany
- Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:41pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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The pilot of one of the famed Goodyear blimps died in Germany over the weekend after the giant airship caught on fire and eventually plummeted to the ground. German newspaper Der Spiegel reports that the pilot is being hailed as a hero after he fought to keep the blimp afloat long enough, and close enough to the ground, to allow his three passengers to jump to safety:
The blimp, part of an advertising campaign for the Goodyear tire company, was about to land at an airfield in Reichelsheim in western Germany when fire broke out in both engines, according to media reports.
Bild newspaper reported that the pilot, an Australian, called out to the passengers: “We’re having a crash!” and told them to jump out of the cabin, which was hovering just 2 meters (6.6 feet) above the ground at the time. As soon as they had hurled themselves to safety, the airship soared rapidly to a height of around 50 meters, possibly due to the sudden loss of weight in the cabin, making it impossible for the pilot to escape, eyewitnesses said.
The blimp then became engulfed in flames and fell back to the ground in a ball of fire. The passengers were a press photographer and a TV crew who had been on a two-and-a-half-hour round trip to get aerial shots of a public festival.
The Daily Mail has some of the photos:
You can see more of the incredible photos here.
UPDATE:
Goodyear e-mailed The Blaze with a statement:
An airship owned and operated by Lightship Europe Limited caught fire at Reichelsheim Airfield in Germany on Sunday evening.
One member of the flight crew suffered fatal injuries. His relatives have been informed. There were no injuries to passengers or ground crew.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the crew member, and also with our colleagues and the passengers involved with the airship tour in Germany.
The Airship is one of two leased by Goodyear from Lightship Europe Limited for marketing purposes in Europe. The second airship has been withdrawn from service until further notice.
As is customary in incidents involving aircraft, the aviation and local authorities have initiated an investigation. Goodyear and Lightship Europe Limited can not speculate on causes.
UPDATE II:
New video shows the blimp falling from the sky. Watch it here.
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Comments (93)
13th Imam
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 2:05pmBoth Engines at the same time?? The Engines are widely separated. Goodyear in the land of Michelin, I wonder?
Truly a hero pilot.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:48pmOh the humanity!
Report Post »KABAR2
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:32pmBlimps are filled with helium – non-flammable…. more likely a fuel leak from one of the engines…
Report Post »looks like the gondola burned up a terrible way to die…. prayers for the family of the pilot.
GERATMO
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:27pmA hero indeed.
Report Post »TH30PH1LUS
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:25pmThe pilot was a selfless hero for saving lives. Too bad there seems to be no ejection function for this type of aircraft. Condolences to his family.
Report Post »TreeTrimmerJim
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 3:46pmEjection… There is a huge roof over the cabin, the craft speed is typically less than 30mph and altitude is less than 1,000 feet… how would the ejection work? It takes altitude and or distance meaning time for a parachute to work. Can’t go up to gain altitude because of the roof. Can’t trade horizontal distance for time because the craft is too slow. Ejection or parachutes may not be practical.
Report Post »endgamer
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:24pmThe Hindenburg blew up at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey May 6, 1937. Zeppelins were filled with Hydrogen which is highly explosive. Blimps are filled with Helium which is an inert gas. So there isn’t a correlation between the Hindenburg and the Goodyear blimp maybe, at best, ironic but it’s reaching a bit. My thoughts and prayers to the family of the pilot.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:22pmBoth engines catch on fire????Sounds like sabotage to me……
Report Post »chips1
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 2:53pmI’m thinking “FIRESTONE”!!!!!
Report Post »Its Gonna Getcha
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:21pmThe Hindenburg Part Deux. It’s when we push the “indestructible” to it’s limits.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:21pmNote to self….
Report Post »Never ride in blimp…especially if the pilot has a German last name.
Ron53
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:20pmGod Bless the pilot for his heroic and selfless act to save the passengers.
Report Post »commonsenseguy
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:14pmi pray that god will bless and guide his family in their time of grief . he is a hero, and he should be remembered that way, for all of you who make jokes of someones death, should be a shamed , there is nothing funny about the lose of life,no matter who they are or what the believe, again, iwill pray for the family and pray that they can find peace.
Report Post »bhelmet
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:12pmReverse Hindenburg = Reverse Naziism?
Report Post »LIBSALWAYSLIE
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:10pma blimp and a zepplin are two very different things
Report Post »Liberty7
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:09pmGod Bless you Captain – duty called and you acted accordingly with resolve, bravery and heroism. Happy Trails Mate!
Report Post »Drum Man
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:59pmWow. That is awful. Hero pilot. Prayers to his loved ones.
Report Post »chazman
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:58pm…geez. What a bummer …
Report Post »TheDebtWeAllPay
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:58pmSad my thoughts and prayers
Report Post »randy
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:55pmCould this be payback for the Hindenburg ?
Report Post »Omnipeach
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:54pmVery Sad, pray for the pilot’s family and friends – yes a hero
Report Post »David, the Constitutional Libertarian
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:54pmBoth engines started on fire? Aircraft mechanic here. More than likely the fire started in the fuel system and spread. The likelihood of an engine fire is low, the likelihood of both happening at once is astronomical.
Robert, it did not blow up, it burned. The helium was released and then it plummeted to the ground.
I would like to see the airframe schematics and fuel system schematics to be able to give any further info.
One thing is for sure, the A7P mechanic and inspectors better have had kept good records. That is the first thing they look at is the record keeping. The wreckage will be collected and it will take like two years for them to say anything. It is a government agency.
Report Post »NoIPhone
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:48pmAnd I hope the mechanics were not conservatives……investigation takes on a whole new meaning.
Report Post »trappedinwv
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 2:48pmMechanics better hope their email accounts are clean.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 4:01pm@david,tcl – You are exactly correct – commercial pilot here – single fire=rare = double fire? = fuel supply/fuel transfer. No A&P here, just a comm. pilot. You Airframe and Powerplant guys know this stuff way better than us flyboys.
Report Post »Clean House
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:54pmDefinatley Heroic
Report Post »Charlie Justice
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:53pmPilot Hero.
Report Post »surfaboybz
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:52pmyeah… i dunno about Germans and blimps… i assume from the story people escaped? sad.
Report Post »Mannax
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:56pmExcept the pilot who was the hero for getting the other three out of the ship safely.
Report Post »surfaboybz
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:01pmwow. total hero. i can’t imagine trying to navigate a burning ballon to be an easy task. prayers to his fam.
Report Post »larman
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:50pmOh the humanity…sorry could resist RIP.
Report Post »HTuttle
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:53pmBeat me to it.
Report Post »Mannax
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:55pmYou should be ashamed… I should be to because I thought the EXACT same thing. Though mine would have been, “Oh, the humanity…“ Pause ”Too soon?”
Report Post »TexasTBone
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:55pmplease control yourself.
Report Post »MASTER YODA
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 2:14pmBeen waiting since the 1930′s to get even for the hindenburg, have they.
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:45pmAgain a blimp blowing up ?
Report Post »R I P
vennoye
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:53pmHistory repeating itself?
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:55pmoh my. prayers for his loved one.
Report Post »CHEWYRUNTS
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:58pmGermany, maybe it’s time to look into other aircrafts.
Report Post »Patrick in AZ
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:59pmKind of strange that this would happen in Germany
Report Post »BetterDays
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:02pmVenoye
Report Post »My thoughts exactly, Hindemberg revisited, and the War that followed soon upon it’s heels?
Jenny Lind
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:04pmGod bless his heroism , and may his family be comforted.
Report Post »taxed
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:05pmThis blimp represents Anthony Weiner’s career….
http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/index.php?board=1.0
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:06pmThe Pilot…A True HERO. In Gods hands now.
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:17pmGermans should stay away from blimps…… you cant do everything well
Report Post »cowdude
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:29pmPretty sad event. When I first saw that “GoodYearr” on the side, I thought it was another Debbie Wasserman-Schultz delusion of OBAMA’s 2011 performance being introduced to reality.
Cowdude
http://conservativewatercooler.com
Report Post »vennoye
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:51pm@BetterDays
Yes, just didn’t want to make farther connections…but we see them everyday. EU seems to be back to 1930′s sentiments in some areas!
Report Post »oldasdirt
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 1:51pmPay back for the Hindiberg ?
Report Post »skinnydipinacid
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 2:01pmHey Blaze, when people click on this you should automatically kick on Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”… it’d really add to the story.
Report Post »sooner12
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 2:04pmMay that pilot RIP
Report Post »jamesraio
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 2:19pmOohhh the humanity!!!
Report Post »101
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 2:50pmParachutes for pilots are cheap and comfortable to sit on…most small aircraft have ballistic chutes or personal parachutes developed for pilots, you would think a company like Goodyear would’ve had safety in mind & the proper equipment on board.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 3:25pmHeartbreaking. The pilot is definitely a hero for putting his passengers’ lives before his own.
Report Post »Islesfordian
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 4:41pmHe should have told them not to jump until they all were ready. But perhaps he wasn’t thinking about the sudden loss of ballast when they jumped and was just thinking of their safety. God bless him and his family.
Report Post »proliance
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 4:53pmC’mon people, a person died so that he could save others. Act like adults.
And the Hindenburg wasn’t a blimp, it was a Zeppelin. If you don’t know the difference then look it up.
Report Post »rangerp
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 5:12pm@ 101
at just over a hundred and fifty feet, a parachete would not be able to deploy.
Report Post »JBaer
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 6:22pmOh, the humanity!!
Report Post »101
Posted on June 14, 2011 at 4:48amo rangerp
Posted on June 13, 2011 at 5:12pm
@ 101
at just over a hundred and fifty feet, a parachete would not be able to deploy
____________________________________________________________________
You are correct but, (on fire) he had to rapidly lose alt. to jump from a safe height of 6ft, “HAD HE THE OPTION” to climb (w/parachute), maximum rate of climb for this blimp is 2,400 ft/min and 1400 fpm maximum rate of descent. In less than a minute he would have been at a safe jump alt. all though 1,000ft is optimum 600ft is enough for a safe chute deployment, I’ve witnessed a throw out deployment from 200ft and under canopy by 50ft, that’s close but have seen others deploy 500-600ft and walk away…[sic]being a skydiver I wouldn’t exit a aircraft in an emergency under a 1000ft, following the SIMS it’s safer to take your chances in a “plane” taking a hard landing.
I really didn’t want to write a book to explain, I figured the right people and/or person would read my previous post, take note and review all the safety procedures (maybe add a parachute)…the pilot was working with seconds no time to think twice, the pilot did a fantastic job and saved lives but at what sacrifice.
Report Post »Secret Squirrel
Posted on June 14, 2011 at 1:13pm.
Report Post »Must have been fuel related, because blimps use helium to rise.
Helium is inert.