This happened one morning on August 16, 1942… As this U.S. Navy blimp was preparing to depart for Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay in search of submarine sightings. The pilots on board were Ernest Cody (27 years old) and Charles Adams (32 years old), both had experience as pilots but it was the first time that Charles flew a blimp like the L-8. An hour after takeoff (7:38 am) Ernest called the squadron headquarters at Moffett Field by radio, letting them know his location, 4 minutes later he called back saying that he was investigating an oil slick that seemed suspicious to him, after that call they lost signal. After three hours without calling quarters, the blimp suddenly returned to land and crashed in Daly City. Everything inside was fine; however, they noticed the pilots were not on board. Many believe they purposely disappeared so they would never be found again. There were several witnesses in the area who noticed the blimp drifting for several minutes. No one in the city was injured in the blimp's crash. After Daly City officials arrived at the scene, they noticed a leak in the blimp's helium bag and reported the men on board missing. The door was open, which is highly unusual in mid-flight. The safety bar wasn't in the same place, and a microphone was hanging outside the gondola. The light switches and radio were on. Ernest's hat was brought in along with a briefcase containing top-secret documents. Two life jackets were missing, but no one saw anything fall from the craft. People began calling it the "GHOST BLIMP" because of the men who had disappeared without explanation. A Navy investigation revealed that the airship was sighted by several ships and aircraft between 7 and 11 a.m. on the same day as the incident. They were even close enough for the pilots to be seen inside. So far, everything seems normal. On August 17, 1943, both men were presumed dead.
So far, this is all that's known about this case, but I sincerely believe we'll never know what happened to Ernest and Charles. However, I think this story can be a great help in letting you know that not everything is what it seems. One day you can be successful in your dream job and the next, gone, like what happened to Ernest and Charles. What do you think, those of you who are reading this?