This terrible accident killed 35 of the 97 people on board and put an end to the era of the balloon.
The Hindenburg disaster is an event that took place on Thursday, May 6, 1937 when the famous hot air balloon LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire at a towing station and burned while landing on a flight departing from Frankfurt, Germany, to New Jersey, United States. This terrible accident killed 35 of the 97 people on board and put an end to the era of the balloon.
The Hindenburg airship took off from Frankfurt on the afternoon of May 3 to begin a series of 10 consecutive flights between Europe and the United States in the second year it was officially operational. The ship took a few hours to cross Boston on the morning of the 6th and finally reached Lakehurst several hours later due to the effects of a storm. Seeing the bad weather conditions, Captain Max Pruss was forced to take a tour of Manhattan and this caused a curious crowd to flock to the streets to admire the giant ship.
After reaching a safer area around 4 p.m., Max Pruss drove a monorail around New Jersey so passengers could see the city from above while waiting for better weather. At approximately 6:22 a.m., the storm cleared and the vessel proceeded directly to Lakehurst half a day later than expected.
At approximately 7:00 p.m. local time, at an altitude of about 200 meters, Hindenburg began to land at the Lakehurst Naval Flight Station. They are forced to land high, also known as flying mooring, as the ship will drop the rope and pull down to then hook onto the towing station. This method of landing saves a lot of work, but takes longer than usual.
The fire spread from the stern, burning the entire balloon, leaving only the frame.
When he was about 200 feet from the ground (about 60 meters), the hot air balloon suddenly burned violently from the tail. It was approximately 7:25 am The flames began to burn from the stern of the Hindenburg and quickly spread upward from the hydrogen gas explosion. The tail caught fire, the vessel lost its balance and crashed to the ground. Everyone standing nearby fled.
The cause of the fire remains a mystery to this day, although many theories have been made to explain the reason for the fire and the spread of the fire to the ship’s fuel. This event shattered public confidence with giant balloons.
Until 2013, the official cause of the accident was officially announced. New American scientists have concluded on the cause of the accident of this legendary balloon, which is electrostatic. Experts suggested the ship flew in an electrically charged cloud, causing a fire and explosion.
