> Generally, in a thunderstorm, airships remained over land, where it was easier to keep one’s bearings: There were landmarks and, at night, illuminated areas f

> Generally, in a thunderstorm, airships remained over land, where it was easier to keep one’s bearings: There were landmarks and, at night, illuminated areas for guidance. In the event that the worst happened, being over land helped facilitate rescue efforts. It was also common maritime knowledge that winds tended to be less severe on the western side of a storm. Knowing this, Wiley suggested at least twice that the ship move west and further inland for the time being. McCord disagreed. How much he took into account what Moffett wanted is impossible to know, but he surely didn’t wish to arrive in Newport far behind schedule with such an esteemed passenger on board. So they had egos as big as the oversized airship they built. What a tragedy and waste of human life, I hate it. I wonder why they didn’t just build smaller airships, why risk an unproven type of craft with some megalomaniacal project?