The heroic actions of an Australian blimp pilot saved the lives of all three of his passengers, but led to his own death. Michael Nerandzic, who had 26 years of experience flying airships, was attempting to land a Goodyear blimp in Reichelsheim, Germany on Sunday when the engine caught fire.
Nerandzic lowered the blimp about 6.5 feet above the ground and told all three of his passengers to jump to safety. With the loss of the passengers, the airship shot about 165 feet into the air and burst into flames. The blimp then crashed.
Nerandzic’s wife, Lyndy, said he “would have known that he didn’t have a chance” after letting the passengers jump. “As soon as they jumped out of course, being an airship, he knew it would rise up and it did. They found him still at the controls when it crashed. He also steered it away from his ground crew,” Lyndy to ABC Sydney.
The cause of the accident is under investigation. Nerandzic and the passengers, who are all journalists, were returning from getting aerial footage of a festival.
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