A1FlyBoy
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The Goodyear blimp "Spirit of America" was damaged and a cameraman injured during a landing attempt at the blimp's Carson, Calif. base Dec. 3rd.
The cameraman in the blimp sustained a knee injury injured when the airship came loose from its moorings. No one else aboard the craft was hurt.
The blimp was landing but "the ground crew wasn't able to secure it on the first approach," Sgt. Paul Rice of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Dept. told the Associated Press. "The plan was to circle around again but there was not enough power for liftoff, so it got away from the ground crew."
The blimp drifted into a parked truck, then nosed into a fertilizer pile beside a plant nursery, coming to rest 300 yards from its landing site. The crash tore a hole in the front of the blimp, deflating it, and knocked out the front window of the crew gondola, said Sgt. Rice.
Goodyear spokeswoman Jennifer Arnold said the blimp was returning from shooting a video of the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles during an NBA game. The company was investigating the accident along with the FAA and NTSB, she added.
The name of the pilot at the controls during the accident was not released. However, there are four pilots who normally fly the L.A.-based blimp: John Crayton, Tom Matus, Charles Russell and Jon Conrad.
Goodyear's newest blimp, "Spirit of America" was christened Sept. 5, 2002 in Akron, Ohio. The GZ-20A is 192 feet long, 50 feet wide and 59.5 feet tall; powered by two 210-hp Continental IO-360 engines, it has a cruise speed of 30 mph.
The cameraman in the blimp sustained a knee injury injured when the airship came loose from its moorings. No one else aboard the craft was hurt.
The blimp was landing but "the ground crew wasn't able to secure it on the first approach," Sgt. Paul Rice of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Dept. told the Associated Press. "The plan was to circle around again but there was not enough power for liftoff, so it got away from the ground crew."
The blimp drifted into a parked truck, then nosed into a fertilizer pile beside a plant nursery, coming to rest 300 yards from its landing site. The crash tore a hole in the front of the blimp, deflating it, and knocked out the front window of the crew gondola, said Sgt. Rice.
Goodyear spokeswoman Jennifer Arnold said the blimp was returning from shooting a video of the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles during an NBA game. The company was investigating the accident along with the FAA and NTSB, she added.
The name of the pilot at the controls during the accident was not released. However, there are four pilots who normally fly the L.A.-based blimp: John Crayton, Tom Matus, Charles Russell and Jon Conrad.
Goodyear's newest blimp, "Spirit of America" was christened Sept. 5, 2002 in Akron, Ohio. The GZ-20A is 192 feet long, 50 feet wide and 59.5 feet tall; powered by two 210-hp Continental IO-360 engines, it has a cruise speed of 30 mph.
