As it happened, for example, with the British dirigible R-100. Airships were slug. Low-power motors do not allow them to develop a sufficiently high cruising speed. Speed has become one of the factors that gave the sky airplanes airships. A serious drawback airships, especially the giants of pre-war time was insufficient strength of the structure.

Especially in the rear set, where the wheels. In this part of the body diagram of the bending stress reaches its maximum. Under the influence of these stresses accumulated fatigue set in at some point is the destruction of the bearing elements. Of course, unlike an airplane, where the failure of even one element construction equipment or face a total disaster, the airship is much more tenacious. But the destruction of structural elements due to material fatigue resulting in the loss of gas, losing altitude and crash. That's what happened Catastrophe Major U.S. airship "Akron".

Unfortunately, apart from the purely technical aspects, the cause of accident and became a notorious human factor – the lack of an experienced crew in piloting and ground personnel – to ensure safety. For maintenance of airships, for refueling and ballast, and to perform repair work required expensive ground infrastructure – large boathouses, mooring mast of special design, capable of holding the blimp at a landing, but so that he could, as a weather vane is free to the wind. Were needed and numerous ground crews. The airship can fly even in such weather conditions when the aircraft is heavier than air just would not risk getting off the ground.