Human fatigue and the crash of the airship Italia

• Published in: Polar Research
• Main Authors: Bendrick, Gregg A., Beckett, Scott A., Klerman, Elizabeth B.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Article; Nobile; North Pole
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5421565/; https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v35.27105

The airship Italia, commanded by General Umberto Nobile, crashed during its return flight from the North Pole in 1928. The cause of the accident was never satisfactorily explained. We present evidence that the crash may have been fatigue-related. Nobile’s memoirs indicate that at the time of the cra...