BCIS 5350 – EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
TECHNOLOGY DISASTER ANALYSIS
HINDENBURG
Student: Quynh Nguyen
Nature of Crisis
On the evening of May 3rd 1937, the Hindenburg,
the German passenger airship, departed from
Frankfurt, Germany. On May 6th, 1937, the
Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during
its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at
Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey, United
States. Of the 97 people on board (36 passengers
and 61 crewmen), 35 people were killed in this
disaster (13 passengers and 22 crewmen). One
member of the ground crew was also killed,
making a total of 36 dead.
After more than 30 years commercial zeppelins,
the Hindenburg disaster brought an end to the
age of the rigid airship.
Location & Timing of Crisis
The location: Naval Air Station Lakehurst, Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States.
The timing of the crisis: May 6th, 1937, at 7:25 p.m. local time, the Hindenburg caught fire and quickly
became engulfed in flames.
Sequence of Events
On the evening of May 3rd 1937, the Hindenburg departed from Frankfurt, Germany to New Jersey,
United States.
Hindenburg followed a northern track across the ocean. Headwinds delayed the airship’s passage across
the Atlantic. The Lakehurst arrival, which had been scheduled for 6:00 AM on May 6th, was postponed to
6:00 PM. By noon on May 6th, the ship reached Boston. By 3:00 PM, it was over Manhattan Island, New
York city.
Around 4:15 OM, the ship arrived at the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, New Jersey. However, the
landing was delayed due to the poor weather conditions. Captain Max Pruss departed the Lakehurst
area and took the ship over the beaches and coast of New Jersey to wait out the storm.
6:00 PM, the weather conditions had improved.
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6: 12 PM, Lakehurst’s commanding officer, Charles Rosendahl, considered the weather was suitable for
landing.
6:22 PM, Rosendahl radioed Pruss “Recommend landing now,”
7:08 PM, Rosendahl sent a message strongly recommending the “earliest possible landing”.
Hindenburg approached the field at Lakehurst from the southwest shortly after 7:00 PM. Since the wind
was from the east, Captain Pruss made a wide left turn to fly a descending oval pattern around the north
and west of the field, to line up for a landing into the wind to the east.
7:18 PM, Pruss ordered 300, 300 and 500 kg of water ballast in successive drops because the airship was
tail heavy. The forward gas cells were also valved. When these measures failed to keep the ship in level
trim, six crewmen were ordered to go to the bow to trim the airship.
7:21 PM, with the ship about 180 feet above
the ground, the mooring lines were dropped
from the bow. A light rain began to fall.
7:25 PM, witnesses saw small flame at the top
of the tail section of the Hindenburg, just in
front of the tail fin. The fire quickly spread
forward. The entire airship was totally
consumed by flames in just only 34 seconds.
Immediate Results
Of the 97 people on board, 13 of the 36 passengers, and 22 of the 61 crew, died as a result of the crash,
along with one member of the ground crew.
The airship was totally destroyed.
Event Plot
Prepare/ Prevent
Pre-crisis:


Dozens of hydrogen airships exploded or burned in the years before the Hindenburg disaster.
Bad weather conditions on the day of the disaster (thunderstorm, winds)
Emergence:
The airship made a sharp left turn because the wind shifted direction.
When the mooring lines were dropped from the bow, a light rain began to fall.
Respond
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The crisis:


The Hindenburg caught fire and was totally consumed by flames in just only 34 seconds.
36 people were killed in the disaster.
Recover
Decline:
The Commerce Department and the Navy led the investigations into the Hindenburg disaster. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation also looked into the matter even though it technically had no jurisdiction.
There are several hypotheses: sabotage hypothesis, static spark hypothesis, lightning hypothesis,
hydrogen hypothesis, engine failure hypothesis etc.
Post-Crisis:
The end of the airship era.
Glossary
Airship: An airship is a powered, steerable aircraft that it is inflated with a gas that is lighter than air.
A rigid airship: an airship has a framework surrounding one or more individual gas cells, and maintains
its shape by virtue of the framework and not from the pressure of its lifting gas.
A zeppelin: a rigid airship manufactured by a particular company, the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin of Germany.
Mooring lines: the anchors, ropes, and cables that are used to hold a boat or ship in place.
A bow: the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat.
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