The following is a partial list of airship accidents. It includes both rigid airships and blimps, which operated differently from one another. Not included on this list are airships shot down or otherwise lost to military action.
Date Incident Deaths Injured16 July 1889The Campbell Airship crashed off Long Island, killing pilot Edward D. Hogan.1012 June 1897 Deutschland fell over Tempelhof Field in Berlin killing Friedrich Hermann Wölfert and his mechanic Robert Knabe. 2 0 12 May 1902 Semi-rigid airship Pax explodes over Paris, killing Augusto Severo and Georges Saché. 2 0 13 October 1902 While over Paris, the gondola separates from the Bradskys envelope, killing Baron Ottokar de Bradsky and his engineer Paul Morin. 2 0 30 November 1907 French Army airship Patrie breaks loose from its mooring during a storm and is blown over the English Channel; after sightings in Wales and Ireland and a brief touchdown in Belfast, the airship was blown out over the Atlantic Ocean and is never seen again. 0 0 23 May 1908 Morrell airship fell over Berkeley, California. All 16 on board survive, but some with serious injuries. 0 16 5 August 1908 Zeppelin LZ 4 catches fire near Echterdingen after it broke loose from mooring and was blown into some trees. 0 0 25 September 1909 French Army's La République crashes near Avrilly, Allier killing four. 4 0 25 April 1910 Zeppelin LZ 5 (Z II) breaks in two at Limburg an der Lahn after it breaks loose from mooring in a storm. 0 0 28 June 1910 Zeppelin LZ 7 Deutschland crashes in the Teutoburg Forest after flying into a thunderstorm. 0 0 13 July 1910 Airship Erbslöh explodes over Rhenish Prussia killing all five. 5 0 14 September 1910 Zeppelin LZ 6 (Z III) burns in its hangar at Oos, Baden-Baden. 0 0 15 October 1910 American non-rigid airship America disappears without a trace off Nova Scotia after being abandoned by its crew. 0 0 23 February 1911 The Yamada-style No. 2 airship () developed by was destroyed by strong winds while moored for repairs. 0 0 4 May 1911 British Army's Morning Post is blown off course during descent. It crashed into trees and houses before bursting and seriously burning a French mechanic. 0 1 16 May 1911 Zeppelin LZ 8 Deutschland II is caught by a wind gust while being walked out of its hangar and damaged beyond repair after it smashes on the roof of the hangar. 0 0 24 September 1911 HMA No. 1, more commonly known as the Mayfly, is the first rigid airship to be built in the UK. It broke in two due to strong winds while being removed from its shed in Barrow-in-Furness for ground trials. 0 0 28 June 1912 Zeppelin LZ 10 Schwaben burns at Düsseldorf after it breaks loose in strong winds while being put into its shed. 0 30–40 2 July 1912 Privately owned Goodyear-built airship Akron explodes on a transatlantic attempt off Atlantic City, New Jersey, killing all five, including its owner, Melvin Vaniman. 5 0 4 September 1912 Near Budapest, Hungary, a military airship was being prepared for an ascent and was being held down by more than 100 soldiers, a heavy wind prevails and a sudden gust carries the airship away. It rises rapidly and all but three of the men release their grip on the rope. Those three hold on until exhaustion weakens their grip, causing them to fall to their deaths one by one. 3 0 9 September 1913 Imperial German Navy L 1 (Zeppelin LZ 14) crashes in a storm north of Heligoland. 14 drowned, 6 survivors. First fatal Zeppelin accident. 14 6 17 October 1913 Imperial German Navy L 2 (Zeppelin LZ 18) explodes in mid-air and crashes during a test flight. All 28 on board killed. 28 0 20 June 1914 Austro-Hungarian Army k.u.k collides with an army Farman HF.20 over Fischamend. All seven on airship die along with the two in the biplane. 9 0 13 October 1914 Imperial Russian non-rigid airship Albatross crashes during a forced landing. 0 0 10 February 1915 Imperial Russian semi-rigid airship Giant, Russia's largest airship, bends in two and crashes near Gatchina during flight tests. 0 0 3 September 1915 Imperial German Navy L 10 (Zeppelin LZ 40) is destroyed by fire on 3 September 1915 after being struck by lightning near Cuxhaven, killing 19 crew members. 19 0 1 October 1915 Zeppelin LZ 11 Viktoria Luise breaks apart while being put in its hangar. 0 0 10 November 1915 Imperial German Navy D.1 (Schütte-Lanz type SL6) explodes after take-off over Luftschiffhafen Seddin, killing all 20 on-board. 20 0 17 November 1915 Imperial German Navy L 18 (Zeppelin LZ 52) burns out in shed fire at Tønder. 0 0 1 February 1916 Imperial German Navy L 19 (Zeppelin LZ 54) comes down in the North Sea, off the coast of the Netherlands, after an air-raid on the United Kingdom. All 16 crew survive the crash, but subsequently perish after the crew of a British fishing boat refuse to rescue them. 16 0 21 February 1916 In an experiment to launch a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2C fighter from under a SS-class non-rigid airship, Neville Usborne and another British officer are killed. 2 0 3 May 1916 Imperial German Navy L 20 (Zeppelin LZ 59) force-lands off Norway due to low fuel. Six crew jump overboard, leaving eight still on board. Relieved of weight, the airship rises and is blown northwest before its anchor catches a rock on a mountain. The shock of the sudden stop is so great that one of the gondolas falls off into the water, killing three. The airship rises again and continues flying until it slowly falls into the water off Jåsund and breaks in two. The remaining four crew jump before the airship hits the water. On 4 May the wreck is intentionally shot at by Norwegian soldiers and explodes. 3 12 May 1916 French airship CM-T-1 burns near Porto Torres, Sardinia while en route to Fréjus/St. Raphaël, France. 16 September 1916 Imperial German Navy L 6 (Zeppelin LZ 31) burns during inflation in hangar at Fuhlsbüttel and is destroyed along with L 9 (Zeppelin LZ 36). 0 0 7 November 1916 Imperial German Army LZ 90 (Zeppelin LZ 60) disappears without a trace after breaking loose in a storm and blown out to sea. 0 0 28 December 1916 Imperial German Navy L 24 (Zeppelin LZ 69) crashes into a wall while being taken into its hangar at Tondern and burns out, along with L 17 (Zeppelin LZ 53). 0 0 20 October 1917 Imperial German Navy L 45 (Zeppelin LZ85) performs a forced landing near Sisteron, France, due to fuel exhaustion; all 17 crew were taken captive after the commander set the airship on fire. 0 0 20 October 1917 Imperial German Navy L 50 (Zeppelin LZ 89) performs a forced landing near Dammartin-sur-Meuse, France due to fuel exhaustion; the control car is torn off in the crash, but the ship drifts over the Mediterranean with five crew on board where it apparently explodes. Remaining 16 crew taken captive as POWs. 5 0 12 December 1917 "North Sea"-class blimp N.S. 5 sets off for RNAS East Fortune, but both engines fail within sight of her destination and she drifts with the wind for about before they could be restarted. However, since both engines continue to be troublesome it is decided to make a "free balloon" landing; the airship is damaged beyond repair during the attempt. 0 013-14 December 1917 Coastal class airship C.26 of the British Royal Naval Air Service was searching for C.27 which had run into difficulties off the British coast. During the search, the rear engine fails for unknown reasons and the airship begins to drift towards the Netherlands. Ballast and equipment were thrown overboard to maintain altitude over water. Three crew jump overboard when the airship gets stuck, but this reduced the weight and the airship took off again and the final crew member lets go and falls into a ditch near Sliedrecht. Unmanned and out of control, C.26 gets stuck again, later breaks loose and crashes onto a bakery in Eemnes. Crew arrested and interned in Groningen until the end of the war.01 5 January 1918 Ahlhorn hangars explode, destroying the LZ 87 (L 47), LZ 94 (L 46), LZ 97 (L 51), LZ 105 (L 58), and SL 20. Fifteen killed, 134 injured. 15 134 7 April 1918 Imperial German Navy L 59 (Zeppelin LZ 104) explodes over Malta for reasons unknown, killing all 21 crew. 21 0 14 May 1919 United States Navy blimp C-5 A-4122 is blown out to sea over the Atlantic after it breaks loose from its moorings in a storm. 0 0 2 July 1919 United States Navy blimp C-8 explodes while landing at Camp Holabird, Maryland, injuring ~80 adults and children who were watching it. Windows in homes a mile away are shattered by the blast. ~80 15 July 1919 Royal Navy North Sea class airship N.S. 11 burns over the North Sea off Norfolk, England, killing twelve. In the early hours of 15 July on what was officially supposed to be a mine-hunting patrol, she was seen to fly beneath a long "greasy black cloud" off Cley next the Sea, on the Norfolk coast, and a massive explosion was heard shortly after. A vivid glare lasted for a few minutes as the burning airship descended, and finally plunged into the sea after a second explosion. There were no survivors, and the findings of the official Court of Enquiry were inconclusive, but amongst other possibilities it was thought that a lightning strike may have caused the explosion. 12 0 21 July 1919 American airship Wingfoot Air Express catches fire over downtown Chicago, 2 passengers, one crewmember and 10 people on the ground die while 2 parachute to safety. 13 28 19 June 1920 United States Navy Goodyear airship D-1, A-4450, burns Swanborough, Gordon, and Bowers, Peter M., "United States Navy Aircraft since 1911", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1976, Library of Congress card number 90-60097, , pages 573–574. at the Goodyear Wingfoot Lake Airship Base, Suffield Township, Portage County, Ohio. 6 February 1921 Soviet military airship Krasnaya Zvezda (ex-French Astra-Torres AT-13) crashes after encountering strong winds. 7 July 1921 United States Navy airship C-3 burns in mid-air at Naval Air Station Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Virginia 23 August 1921 British R38, built for U.S. Navy and already carrying "ZR-2" markings, breaks in half and catches fire after suffering structural failure during high-speed trials over Hull. 44 die, 5 survivors. 44 31 August 1921 U.S. Navy airship D-6, A-5972, burns in its NAS Rockaway hangar, along with airships C-10 and H-1, and the kite balloon A-P. 21 February 1922 U.S. Army airship Roma (ex-Italian T34) hits power lines in Virginia and burns out following rudder failure, killing 34 of 45 on board. 34 8 17 October 1922 U.S. Army's largest blimp, C-2 (A-4119), catches fire shortly after being removed from its hangar at Brooks Field, San Antonio, Texas for a flight. Seven of eight crew aboard are injured, mostly in jumping from the craft. This accident was made the occasion for official announcement by the Army and the Navy that the use of hydrogen would be abandoned "as speedily as possible".Roseberry, C. R., "The Challenging Skies – The Colorful Story of Aviation's Most Exciting Years, 1919–1939", Doubleday & Co., Inc., Garden City, New York, 1966, Library of Congress card number 66-20929, page 347. From 14 September to 23 September 1922,"C-2 Successful in Long Journey", Miami Herald, 24 September 1922, p. 1 the C-2 had made the first transcontinental airship flight, from Langley Field, Virginia, to Arcadia, California, under the command of Maj. H. A. Strauss. 0 7 21 December 1923 French Navy's Dixmude (ex Zeppelin LZ 114) explodes in mid-air over the Mediterranean near Sicily following an apparent lightning strike. All 52 on board killed. 52 0 10 October 1924 U.S. Army blimp TC-2 explodes over Newport News when a bomb it was carrying detonates. Two of the crew of five were killed. 2 3 September 1925 U.S. Navy USS Shenandoah (ZR 1) is caught in a storm over Noble County, Ohio and breaks apart into several pieces. 14 killed, 29 survivors. 1425 August 1927USS Los Angeles is flipped vertically at the Lakehurst mast. Damage is minor, the photograph becomes famous. 0 0 25 May 1928 Italian semi-rigid Italia crashes on return fr