Cambridge, Massachusetts – September 4, 1910
Shortly before noon on September 4, 1910, aeronaut Cromwell Dixon took off from Harvard field in his dirigible airship. When he’d reached an altitude of 500 feet, the engine suddenly failed. A breeze was blowing, and he was in danger of being pushed out to sea. He was too high to successfully drop the ship’s anchor, so he crawled to the extreme forward part of the craft causing it to dip and lose some latitude. He then dropped the anchor which eventually came within reach of those on the ground and he was pulled down safely.
Source:
Albuquerque Morning Journal, “Dirigible Aeronaut Has narrow Escape”, September 5, 1910.