Simply to save time and money, many safety features were left out of its construction; including static dampening plates, slow release valves and even escape pods. The downward pushing heliblades, used in conjunction with hydrogen filled balloons to keep the station in perfect balance, shorted out due to an electrical storm. This caused the weather station to rise up, which would inevitably cause the balloons to burst and the station to crash down to Earth in a catastrophic manner. Luckily, John Tracy was checking in on the station during the time the heliblades stopped, as he was concerned about a nearby hurricane, so International Rescue were informed.