Featured moment · World history
Hindenburg disaster
6 May 1937
The German airship Hindenburg caught fire while landing in New Jersey, hastening the decline of passenger airship travel.
What happened?
LZ 129 Hindenburg burst into flames during a landing attempt at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on 6 May 1937.
Why it mattered
Widely distributed photographs and newsreel footage brought the disaster to a mass audience and profoundly damaged confidence in commercial airships.