$35M helium airship damaged as part of Tustin hangar roof collapses

Part of the roof of a hangar collapsed at a former military base in Tustin, damaging a $35-million dirigible and causing it to leak helium, according to ABC News.

The collapse left a 25-by-25-foot hole in the ceiling and caused a helium leak  in the 254 foot long airship about 7:45 a.m., Orange County Fire Authority Capt.  Steve Concialdi said. No one was injured, he added, according to Fox News.

Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who was at the hanger Monday, said the roof collapse worried him because the county is slated to take over the structure. “This is going to raise serious questions about the future of this hanger and whether Orange County can afford future liability,” Spitzer said, according to the L.A. Times.

“The big concern I have obviously as a county supervisor whose district this blimp hangar is in, is the future of this blimp hangar and whether or not in light of the fact that there’s a gaping hole now in this structure and we already knew about the fact that this was built during World War II, whether we can afford to take this blimp hangar into county property,” said Spitzer, according to CBS News.

Stored inside the World War II-era hangar is a 254-foot-long airship being developed by Worldwide Aeros, a company hoping to make the vessel capable of carrying 66 tons of cargo – more than a C-130 cargo plane, according to the O.C. Register.