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WHILE THE EXACT CAUSE OF THE DISASTER IS DEBATED,

• The Hindenburg disaster was a terrible tragedy
• It was assisted by the presence of flammable hydrogen in the ship
• It spelled the end of large passenger zeppelins.

CAUSES

1. THE USE OF HYDROGEN RATHER THAN HELIUM

• At the time, the U.S. was the only major supplier of helium
• The U.S. refused to export it due to concerns about Hitler's use of helium airships

2. A SPARK THAT IGNITED THE LEAKING HYDROGEN

• There are theories of sabotage and other sources of fire, but a spark is the most generally accepted explanation
• The spark was caused by either static electricity in the air or a phenomenon known as St. Elmo's fire
• We won't go into that much detail here, though.

EVENTS

EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE CRASH

• The Hindenburg left Frankfurt, Germany.
• The zeppelin made it across the Atlantic quickly.
• The vessel arrived above Lakehurst, New Jersey.
• It descended and began its landing procedure.
• A spark appeared on the rear of the airship.

DETAILS OF THE CRASH

• Passengers began to jump out the windows to escape the fire.
• Statistically, the rate of survival was higher the closer passengers were to the windows.

DETAILS OF THE CRASH (CONT'D)

• The airship was destroyed by the fire in 32 seconds.
• 35 people onboard the vessel were killed, along with 1 ground crew worker.

BURTIS DOLAN WAS A PASSENGER ON THE HINDENBURG

BURTIS DOLAN'S STORY

• Dolan was a perfume executive from Chicago who was returning from a trip to Europe.
• He had promised his wife that he wouldn't fly for the trip.
• Despite this, he boarded the airship trying to surprise her for Mother's Day.

HIS WIFE NEVER GOT TO SEE HIM AGAIN

This story and others like it go to show that the Hindenburg disaster was not just an important historical event...

IT WAS A HORRIBLE TRAGEDY

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME