American Notes Disasters

History repeated itself in the skies over Lakehurst, N.J., last week. Just three-quarters of a mile from where the hydrogen-filled dirigible Hindenburg exploded into flames in 1937, killing 36, an experimental airship known as the Heli-Stat apparently lost power, crashed and burned during a test flight at the U.S. Naval Air Engineering Center. One of the five civilian crew members was killed.

A hybrid aircraft made up of four Sikorsky SH-34J helicopters attached to a helium-filled blimp, the Heli-Stat was the brainchild of Frank Piasecki, 66, a pioneer in helicopter development. Patented in 1961, the Heli-Stat could not find a sponsor until 1979, when Piasecki received backing from the U.S. Forest Service to build a vehicle for lifting lumber from remote forests. But development costs ballooned from an original estimate of $6.7 million to over $31 million, and the Heli-Stat managed to fly successfully for the first time only last April. The latest Lakehurst disaster may take the air out of Piasecki's blimp altogether.