Did conspiracy or command pressure send Akron into the storm?

Did a conspiracy or pressure from important passengers send Akron into the storm?

No conspiracy is established. The inadequate weather report is concrete, while any pressure created by the senior passengers is only a possibility.

No deliberate plot is identified. The concrete failure was that Akron's crew did not receive an adequate account of the weather ahead. The presence of senior passengers might have created pressure to continue, but that possibility is offered only as speculation. By about 10 p.m. on 3 April, worsening fog, lightning, rain, and turbulence made retreat increasingly difficult.