The dirigible Italia crashed onto the Arctic sea ice north-east of the Svalbard archipelago on 25 May 1928 at 10:33 GMT while travelling back to her base from the North Pole. Only eight of the 16 crew members survived: one was killed upon impact, one did not survive the post-crash ordeal and six were trapped in the airship envelope (i.e., the balloon), which floated away and disappeared. No definite conclusions have ever been reached about the causes of the crash. The judgements of the Commission of Inquiry instituted by the Italian government and published in 1929 are carefully examined. Recent analysis has presented evidence that the mishap may have been fatigue-related. In this paper, the pivotal question of why General Nobile was so sleep-deprived at the time of the accident is addressed, specifically with reference to the lack of a second-in-command (i.e., a deputy commander) during the flight. Such a position was a standard practice for airships at the time, and General Nobile himself described this position as one necessary for an airship. Nevertheless, for a variety of reasons he proceeded on the Italia expedition without an official crew member responsible for this role. The lack of a second-in-command is proposed as a possible major contributing factor in the overall sequence of events leading to the crash of the Italia, although other possible causes and contributing factors for the crash are also considered, including structural failures, crew selection and political obstacles.

中文翻译：

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没有二把手：人体疲劳与意大利飞艇坠毁事件重温

1928 年 5 月 25 日格林威治标准时间 10 点 33 分，意大利飞船在从北极返回基地的途中坠毁在斯瓦尔巴群岛东北部的北极海冰上。16 名船员中只有 8 人幸免于难：1 人在撞击中丧生，1 人在坠机后的磨难中幸免于难，6 人被困在飞艇外壳（即气球）中，飞艇外壳飘走了并消失了。关于坠机的原因，目前还没有得出明确的结论。由意大利政府设立并于 1929 年公布的调查委员会的判决得到了仔细审查。最近的分析表明，事故可能与疲劳有关。在本文中，解决了为什么 Nobile 将军在事故发生时如此缺乏睡眠的关键问题，特别是在飞行期间缺乏副指挥官（即副指挥官）。这样的位置在当时是飞艇的标准做法，诺比勒将军本人将这个位置描述为飞艇必备的位置。尽管如此，由于各种原因，他在没有正式船员负责这一角色的情况下继续进行意大利探险。没有副指挥官被提议作为导致意大利坠毁事件的整个序列中的一个可能的主要促成因素，尽管也考虑了坠毁的其他可能原因和促成因素，包括结构故障、机组人员选择和政治障碍。诺比勒将军本人将这一职位描述为飞艇所必需的职位。尽管如此，由于各种原因，他在没有正式船员负责这一角色的情况下继续进行意大利探险。没有副指挥官被提议作为导致意大利坠毁事件的整个序列中的一个可能的主要促成因素，尽管也考虑了坠毁的其他可能原因和促成因素，包括结构故障、机组人员选择和政治障碍。诺比勒将军本人将这一职位描述为飞艇所必需的职位。尽管如此，由于各种原因，他在没有正式船员负责这一角色的情况下继续进行意大利探险。没有副指挥官被提议作为导致意大利坠毁事件的整个序列中的一个可能的主要促成因素，尽管也考虑了坠毁的其他可能原因和促成因素，包括结构故障、机组人员选择和政治障碍。