The story of the R-101 continues as follows:
The R-101 was dubbed a "flying hotel". Passengers en route to India could enjoy gourmet meals in the dining salon, stroll along the promenade, or pass the time on the lounge's dance floor.
At 7:34 p.m on the evening of October 4, 1930, the R-101 left the airfield at Cardington with 54 passengers and crew on board. The weather was bad that night, with rain and strong winds as the airship headed across the English Channel. By 1 a.m., the R-101 was over France, on the way to Paris.
Over the village of Beauvais, it became apparent to observers on the ground that the giant dirigible was in trouble. It was sliding sideways instead of moving forward. And it was losing altitude. The nose of the craft went down, then levelled off after approximately 30 seconds. Then it dove again, striking a small hill. It burst into flames. Only six crew members survived; all of the passengers on board were killed.
Two days later, medium Eileen Garrett was involved in a session with two gentlemen attempting to contact Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who had recently passed away. Suddenly, Mrs. Garrett became quite agitated. She indicated that someone named Irwin wanted to speak and that the airship had been far too heavy for the engine installed in it. More technical information about problems with the R-101 was revealed. The captain of the R-101 had been H.C. Irwin.
During the same session, contact was successfully made with Conan Doyle, who described the afterlife as being very much like the world he had left.
In subsequent sessions with Mrs. Garrett, other ships officers provided more information the crash of the R-101, including structural defects. An inquiry was held to look into the tragedy, and, interestingly enough, the information received by the medium proved to be accurate for the most part.
If this case doesn't conclusively prove the existence of life after death, it certainly gives one food for thought.
(The great photo accompanying this article was taken by Daniel Umaña.)
