From The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen. This particular part is about the mission to fly over the north pole in a dirigible, which didn't go too badly until they ran into some trouble off the coast of Alaska.
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[...]The ship reversed direction again, barely avoiding the ground. And once, they came so close to a hilltop in the fog that the dangling antenna hooked on some rocks and snapped off. Although Amundsen saw these incidents as yet further evidence of Nobile's poor flying ability, they more likely pointed to the unsuitability of using hydrogen-filled dirigibles to fly in regions where temperatures and winds fluctuate wildly.
More storms followed along the coastline while the Norge bucked in the headwinds, at one point making no progress at all. Nobile, totally exhausted, fell asleep in Amundsen's chair. Nevertheless they continued, and after a few hours later spied the roofs of houses below. They agreed to land the airship, even though Amundsen knew the community wasn't Nome. The Norge cruised over a three-masted ship in the frozen bay and readied an enormous anchor and the landing ropes. But it was still not over. Before anyone had climbed down, a sudden gust pushed the airship toward the shore, pulling loose the anchor. Nobile cranked the valves to release hydrogen. The great machine began to sag and shrink, accompanied by the sounds of a tonne of ice cracking and falling from the outer shell. Its terrified crew slid down the ropes while the great beast collapsed around its skeletal framework, limp and unresponsive, in a field not far from the cottages.
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[...]The ship reversed direction again, barely avoiding the ground. And once, they came so close to a hilltop in the fog that the dangling antenna hooked on some rocks and snapped off. Although Amundsen saw these incidents as yet further evidence of Nobile's poor flying ability, they more likely pointed to the unsuitability of using hydrogen-filled dirigibles to fly in regions where temperatures and winds fluctuate wildly.
More storms followed along the coastline while the Norge bucked in the headwinds, at one point making no progress at all. Nobile, totally exhausted, fell asleep in Amundsen's chair. Nevertheless they continued, and after a few hours later spied the roofs of houses below. They agreed to land the airship, even though Amundsen knew the community wasn't Nome. The Norge cruised over a three-masted ship in the frozen bay and readied an enormous anchor and the landing ropes. But it was still not over. Before anyone had climbed down, a sudden gust pushed the airship toward the shore, pulling loose the anchor. Nobile cranked the valves to release hydrogen. The great machine began to sag and shrink, accompanied by the sounds of a tonne of ice cracking and falling from the outer shell. Its terrified crew slid down the ropes while the great beast collapsed around its skeletal framework, limp and unresponsive, in a field not far from the cottages.