If you ask someone to name a blimp, the chances are they’ll reference the Goodyear Blimp, or the Hindenburg. Referencing the Hindenburg would be wrong, as while rigid airships and blimps are both dirigibles, they are actually separate things. Still, the 1937 disaster which saw the New Jersey-bound craft ignite, crash, and kill 35 people, had a huge impact on people’s willingness to travel around in what is basically a fan-powered, balloon, according to Live Science.
As devastating as the footage of the Hindenburg disaster looked, the majority of people on board survived, 62 of 97 in total, actually survived the crash. Most of the survivors leapt to safety as the Hindenburg was going down. The zeppelin, which was filled with highly flammable hydrogen as opposed to the inert helium similar craft are filled with today, took just 34 seconds to burn. The exact cause of the ignition is unknown, though a theory popular among experts blames electrostatic discharge.
The fate of the Hindenburg, along with its association with Nazi Germany, brought about the end of the airship era. Don Adams, who works for the historical society responsible for maintaining the Hindenburg crash site, explains: “No one wanted to fly with hydrogen ships anymore; they were afraid of it. Not only that, as Hitler gained more power, people really didn’t want to fly on a Nazi airship” (via Live Science).
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