Las Vegas firm’s blimp crashes in Oakland

Michelle R. Smith

Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001 | 11:36 a.m.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- A wayward blimp crashed into a waterfront restaurant and a boat after its two-man crew was forced to jump from the gondola. Only the pilot suffered minor injuries.

The blimp meandered for 20 minutes after the two men jumped to safety Tuesday, said Oakland Airport spokeswoman Cyndy Johnson.

The pilot attempted an emergency landing at the airport, but he and a student pilot -- the only two onboard -- were forced to flee the blimp because they could not control it, Johnson said.

A landing crew was unable to tie it down.

The blimp then floated five miles north over the Oakland Estuary, at one point reaching 1,600 feet, until its gondola caught on a sailboat mast in the Central Basin marina. It draped over the roof of the Oyster Reef restaurant -- next to where the boat was moored -- and a nearby power line.

The pilot suffered minor injuries and was hospitalized in stable condition. The student pilot was treated at the scene. Their names were not immediately released. No one on the ground was hurt.

It wasn't clear what caused the blimp to go astray. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.

"There could have been a number of reasons," said Grant Murray, head of Las Vegas-based blimp owner Airship USA. "An airship moves with great mass and it's very difficult to control it."

The blimp suffered about $2.5 million in damage, Johnson said. Damage was minimal to the restaurant and sailboat.

The blimp bore advertising for Spalding and the XFL, a new professional football league set to start early next month.