Liberty Disaster
 Photo during the crash of the FAS Liberty | |
| Date | 19 June 1939 |
|---|---|
| Location | Petaluma, Riojania |
| Cause | Engine Failure |
| Deaths | 25 people (10 passengers, 15 crew) |
| Non-fatal injuries | 30 people (25 passengers, 5 crew) |
The Liberty Disaster was an event that happened in June 19th, 1939 Petaluma, Riojania that saw the destruction of the FAS Liberty along with a quarter of it's passengers, the airship was built in 1934 and served as a field command post from 1935-1937 where it was then decommissioned and sold off to Traum-Horizont who then turned it into a commercial vessel in 1939 designed to fly their clients around Olivacia and back, the accident resulted in 25 fatalities (10 passengers and 15 crewmen) from the 100 people on board (65 passengers and 35 crewmen).
Background
In 1930 airships were contracted by the Fresian government for aerial observation posts or being designed to carry many biplanes as a sort of mobile carrier with some these types of airships being designed to also house whole command posts on the move, one such example was the FAS Liberty who was a flying command posts from 1935-1937 when it was decommissioned by the new government as they didn’t see the need to upkeep these massive airships when settlements were reached from both sides and stability was at an all time high, so when most of the airships either became parts of museums or sold off private individuals the company Traum-Horizont decided to buy three of them including the FAS Liberty who then went on a 14 month renovation process where it was turned from a military asset to civilian cruiseliners that would fly across Olivacia to transport their clients in both luxury and style.
Flight
The airship’s first flight was in 1939 going from Viriwacht, Fresia to Petaluma, Riojania in an estimated 5 day voyage which if successful would mark the first commercial flight ever done by a large civilian vessel but before the day of the planned launch the company supervisor was informed of a minor mechanical problem with the front two engines which was brushed aside for such a monumental moment, news teams arrived to the airfield where dozens of passengers were boarding the airship standing behind fences the teams tried to take pictures or attempt to climb over and interview the crew members who were still outside with some seeing minor success before they were stopped by local security while a couple managed to slip pass guards and board the ship for live interviews with the passengers along with the crew about their opinion on this journey few showed concern while others answer enthusiastically, the venture west was smooth with only a couple of heavy weather bogging down the flight to Riojania. When they were near their arrival to the city’s airbase an engine at the front started to smoke which was noticed by a nearby technician who reported it to his supiorors moments later which was relayed to the captain who quickly ordered the head engineer to take assessment to whether the engine had hit anything and if it did was it possible to repair it before the landing as a crowd started to gather near the roof-top looking in curiosity as to why both the engines were smoking, before the engineers could reach the two smoking motors an engine began to catch on fire as it quickly grew into a ball of flames imploding the canisters left nearby which helped both injury many of the staff near it and also spread the fire to the fabric exterior, a damage assessment was sent to the captain who ordered a general evacuation of the airship as he tried to manevour the other engines in a way that it would allow passengers below deck to escape quick enough before the entire infrastructure of the vessel collapsed upon itself which would most certainly trap the remainder of the people inside, the crew began to announce an evacuation as passengers scrambled to their rooms to put on their parachutes while on the ground many passerbys gathered to watch as the FAS Liberty was being quickly consumed by the fire and the airship starting to capsize. Emergency services were nearby to close off the area quickly, they attempted to rescue as many people as they could while firefighters rushed to put out the flames, by the end of the affair out of the 100 passangers and crew that were aboard that day only a quarter were recorded as fatalities while the rest were left with minor burns or broken bones who were rushed off to the nearest hospital to recover.