July 25, 1919 – In Room 1123 of the county building
Coroner Peter M. Hoffman conducts an investigation into the cause of the fire
that sent the dirigible Wingfoot Express
into a fatal plummet through the skylight of the Illinois Trust and Savings
Bank on La Salle Street, setting off a gasoline-fueled conflagration that kills
a crew member, two passengers, and ten employees of the bank. Dramatic testimony comes in the person of the
airship’s pilot, John A. Boettner, who testifies that there were no sparks or
flames thrown from the engine and that the engines were running when the fire
was spotted. “I discovered the flames
near the front of the bag and up above the equator,” Boettner says, “I rose to
my feet and holding the wheel with one hand turned and by motions and shouts
told the others to jump. I saw them go
over and then the bag buckled. As the
gondola shot forward I took a long dive toward the ground.” [Chicago
Daily Tribune, July 26, 1919] The above photo shows the skylight of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank through which the dirigible fell to the banking floor.
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