Lightning

On its return to Paris, the Special French Navy Commission, which had been studying the Dixmude disaster on the spot, reported definitely that the airship was struck by lightning when it was 7,000 feet up at 2 o'clock in the morning, Dec. 21.

The commander had remained in touch with a naval station until 15 minutes before the disaster, when he signaled that he was drawing up his wireless aerial. Presumably the ship was struck before the completion of the maneuver. With its huge metal structure, a rigid dirigible is like a giant lightning rod furnishing the easiest and most attractive path for any electrical disturbance. Unlike the lightning rod, it cannot lead the charge safely to mother earth.