Joe had been drawn to the program by the presence of Gus Raspet, described by Joe as "the motivating force behind the program, a brilliant scientist, and a clever practical engineer." Cornish was eager to follow Raspet's lead.
Joe's wife Grace had a premonition that morning that something would go wrong, and she happened to pull up at the airport as the plane went down.
Joe was also involved with a research project in Lakehurst, New Jersey, that studied the aerodynamic properties of the tail sections of military blimps.
Adam Buxton and JoeCornish are the 32-year-old directors, editors and writers of their own eponymous Channel 4comedy sketch show, The Adam and Joe Show, which completed its fourth series earlier this year.
Buxton and Cornish met at the age of 13 as pupils at the exclusive Westminster public school in London.
Buxton and Cornish eagerly gossip about the latest developments ("Do you think it's for real, or is it just a PR stunt?" asks a wide-eyed Cornish) and look surprised at the thought that some would see them in a similar bracket of celebrity.