Followed
at 2:45pm by a talk:
"The R101 Airship Disaster and the broken
elevator cable"
by
Bryan Lawton
HMA R101 came down and was
destroyed by fire near to Beauvais, France, with only six survivors,
and the disaster ended British involvement in the development
of large airships. The conclusions reached by the subsequent
Court of Inquiry left some doubt regarding the cause of the
crash, and consequently several alternative theories have, from
time to time, been published. None have discussed the possible
role of the broken elevator cable, largely because the Court
of Inquiry concluded that it was irrelevant. The possibility
that the broken cable may have been responsible for the disaster
is examined here and it is shown that it fits rather well with
the physical evidence from the wreck, and computer modelling
of the crash confirms that it gives a simpler and more plausible
explanation of the disaster. The reasons why the Court of Inquiry
rejected it, believing that the cable broke after the crash,
are discussed.