OnMay 6 , 1937 , theHindenburgairship caught flaming as it was endeavor to dock at Naval Station Lakehurst in Manchester Township , New Jersey . Thirty - six of the 97 the great unwashed onboard were killed , in summation to one sailor on the earth . The disaster is often called the most annihilative loss of life during the zeppelin era , but theHindenburgwasn’t the worst dirigible accident . In fact , it was n’t even the first one .
The U.S.S.Akron , a helium - filled rigid airship that belonged to the Navy , was trouble from the start . Just a few months after its prescribed maiden over ocean trip onNovember 2 , 1931 , theAkronbroke aside from handlers as a mathematical group of congresswoman were mystify ready to board the ship for ademonstration .
Just a few calendar month later , on May 11 , the ship ran into difficulty while attempting to moor at Camp Kearny near San Diego . Three sailorswere wind into the airby the mooring lines when the ship became uncontrollable . Two of them fell to their last .
The ship departed on April 3 , 1933 , for what would be its final flight . The mission was to calibrate radio equipment along the New England coast ; the 76 passengers onboardincludedhigh - outrank officials such as the Chief of the Navy ’s Bureau of Aeronautics and the command military officer of NAS Lakehurst .
Just after midnight on April 4 , stiff winds hit theAkronhard . Itplunged1000 foot in a matter of arcsecond , and for make it wax again , the crew decided to dump the weewee light ballast . regrettably , it was too much , too fast — the crew lose control of the steerable and theAkroncrashed into the sea , kill all but three passengers . Another dirigible was sent to help with rescue attempts ; it , too , crashed in the unattackable tip , kill two of the seven crew members .
When the very public and highly photographedHindenburgexplosion happened four years later , the thought of travel - by - airship decease with it .
