Today, we're going to be sticking with a theme of flight. July 2nd has seen a lot of history, especially in regards to flight achievements and tragedies. In today's entry, we'll be discussing the first flight of a particular kind of aircraft, as well as the disappearance of a famous pilot.
The first thing on the agenda (and chronological time line), happened on July 2nd, 1900. On Lake Constance (nearby to Friedrichshafen, Germany), the very first Zeppelin flight took place (ascent shown above). Due to some malfunctions in the winding mechanism, the flight only lasted eighteen minutes. The ship had to make an emergency landing on the surface of the lake. The Zeppelin was taking back to the airplane hanger, where it then broke after falling off of its holding apparatus. After it was repaired, the craft made two more flights later on. A lack of funding led to the dismantling of the ship in 1901.
July 2nd was also a day of sadness. In 1937, Amelia Earhart (pictured above) disappeared. She had been supposed to land on Howland Island, but radio contact was lost. Her last known transmission was at 8:43 a.m. The Itasca (a Coast Guard Ship that was following her during her flight) could not reach her on her radio after that and they began to make smoke from their boilers to try to get her attention and find her. Attempts to contact her through voice and Morse code were not successful. The Itasca led many attempts to search for Earhart and her plane; they searched the area surrounding Howland Island, but nothing came up. On July 19th, search efforts were ended. It seemed that no trace of Earhart or her aircraft were to be found. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding what actually happened to her. Theories range from UFOs to the plane running out of gas to a crash landing on an unknown island. There is also a lot of speculation as to whether Earhart actually died in the accident or if she survived for some time afterward. Whatever happened, she was declared legally dead in 1939.
The first thing on the agenda (and chronological time line), happened on July 2nd, 1900. On Lake Constance (nearby to Friedrichshafen, Germany), the very first Zeppelin flight took place (ascent shown above). Due to some malfunctions in the winding mechanism, the flight only lasted eighteen minutes. The ship had to make an emergency landing on the surface of the lake. The Zeppelin was taking back to the airplane hanger, where it then broke after falling off of its holding apparatus. After it was repaired, the craft made two more flights later on. A lack of funding led to the dismantling of the ship in 1901.
July 2nd was also a day of sadness. In 1937, Amelia Earhart (pictured above) disappeared. She had been supposed to land on Howland Island, but radio contact was lost. Her last known transmission was at 8:43 a.m. The Itasca (a Coast Guard Ship that was following her during her flight) could not reach her on her radio after that and they began to make smoke from their boilers to try to get her attention and find her. Attempts to contact her through voice and Morse code were not successful. The Itasca led many attempts to search for Earhart and her plane; they searched the area surrounding Howland Island, but nothing came up. On July 19th, search efforts were ended. It seemed that no trace of Earhart or her aircraft were to be found. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding what actually happened to her. Theories range from UFOs to the plane running out of gas to a crash landing on an unknown island. There is also a lot of speculation as to whether Earhart actually died in the accident or if she survived for some time afterward. Whatever happened, she was declared legally dead in 1939.
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