The Hindenburg Disaster
The Hindenburg, a giant luxurious lighter-than-air airship was built in 1936 by the Zepplin company, in Germany. Named after the late German president Paul Von Hindenburg, the air ship was 804-feet-long and 135-feet-tall at its widest point. The Hindenburg was a rigid airship with a gas capacity of 7,062,100 cubic feet and powered by four 1,100-horsepower diesel engines. Though it had been built for helium (a less flammable gas than hydrogen), hydrogen was used due to the unavailability of helium in Germany. Thus, the Hindenburg was filled with hydrogen in its 16 gas cells.
The Hindenburg, was first revealed to the public in Friedrichshafen, Germany on March 4, 1936. In the same year it successfully completed 10 passenger trips between the United States and Europe, carrying a total of 1002 passengers. For their $400 ticket ($720 round trip), the passengers could relax in the luxurious passenger decks. Activities such as games and music entertained the passengers through the long trip. The presence of a baby grand piano on board gave passengers the scope to indulge in song and dance. With 61 crew members on board, the passengers were well accommodated. The luxury of the Hindenburg was a novelty in air travel. The flight across the Atlantic was usually made at an altitude of approximately 650 feet and an average speed of 78 mph. The total duration of the journey was 48.5 hours.
The Disaster
The Hindenburg disaster happened on May 6, 1937, during the first flight of the season. It happened while the Hindenburg was attempting to land at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. A flame appeared on the outer cover on the rear of the Hindenburg and in a matter of 34 seconds the entire airship was on fire. The disaster killed 35 of the 97 people on board and one ground personnel.
The Cause of the Disaster
Contrary to popular belief it was not hydrogen that was responsible for the fire. Two boards of inquiry investigating the disaster concluded, "Some hydrogen had, in a manner never explained, become free, was ignited electrostatically and exploded." A recent study at the University of California, Los Angeles has proved that the reason for the disaster was the material used to coat the "skin" of the airship. William D. Van Vorst, Professor Emeritus of chemical engineering at UCLA and Addison Bain, former manager, Hydrogen Programs Kennedy Space Center, NASA made three observations which proved otherwise. They noticed that the footage of the incident indicated that the flame was burning downwards, whereas hydrogen flames always burnt downwards. Also, hydrogen burnt with a colorless flame, while eyewitnesses had described the incident to be similar to a fireworks display. Finally, it was found that the material that had been used to "dope" the fabric in order to keep it taught and stretched was highly inflammable.
So what had actually made the fabric ignite? There was a storm brewing in the area at the time of the disaster. As a result a lot of electrostatic charge was accumulated on the outer surface of the airship. The way in which the fabric was attached to the frame helped in the large accumulation. When the accumulated charges discharged from the skin a very high current was generated from the skin to the frame resulting in the igniting of the highly flammable airship skin.
