An Airship Falls From the Sky (II)

14 An Airship Falls From the Sky (II) On May 6, 1937, as the Hindenburg approached its landing tower in New Jersey, U. S. A. , everything was normal. On the ground, a large crowd had gathered to watch the landing. This majestic airship was the largest ever built, and drew large crowds of people wherever it landed. On board, passengers had private rooms with showers. The kitchen held more than two tons of food. Passengersmet for social activities in a large entertainment room with an aluminum grand piano. The Hindenburg could remain airborne for days or weeks at a time. While the airship cruised at a speed of 120 kilometres per hour, passengers could open the windows and look out on the scene below. But on this day, as the Hindenburg was being tied to the landing tower, a small fire started in the tail of the airship. It spread very quickly, covering the entire airship. In an instant, the burning airship fell 40 metres to the ground. Surviving passengers and crew ran for safety.

A radio reporter on the scene broadcast live coverage of the disaster around North America. In an instant, the end of airship passenger travel had arrived. No one trusted the safety of these flying ships after hearing the horrific story of the Hindenburg's last minutes. The Hindenburg flew for only one year. But during that time it travelled 307, 000 kilometres and successfully delivered 2, 798 passengers to their destinations. It made seventeen round-trip journeys across the Atlantic Ocean and completed a record Atlantic double-crossing in five days, nineteen hours, and 51 minutes. No one can say exactly what might have happened had the disastrous fire and crash landing of the Hindenburg not grounded airships. Perhaps we would all be flying in luxurious airships today, instead of in the airplanes and jets that soon took over the skies.