I appreciated the March 31 article remembering the crash of the USS Akron airship. The article is correct in stating that the incident predates the more famous Hindenburg; however, it omits an even earlier crash in our own backyard. On July 21, 1919, the Goodyear dirigible Wingfoot crashed into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago. Thirteen people died in the crash, the worst airship disaster until that time. As a result of the crash, the city of Chicago established a "no fly" zone and the U.S. switched using from hydrogen to helium in airships. (My reference is "Chicago's Midway Airport" by Christopher Lynch, 2003.)
Michael Haupt
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