At 7:25 PM on Thursday, May 6, 1937, a news cameraman recorded the German dirigible Hindenburg burning when it attempted docking at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The cotton covering, doped with aluminum powder, ignited and set the hydrogen cells on fire. Within a minute the naked aluminum frame crashed to the ground. 35 out of 97 passengers and crew and 1 ground worker died, primarily from burns. In spite of proof that hydrogen did not cause the fire nor did it explode, the image of immolation by hydrogen is unfortunately indelibly burned into the public consciousness. An episode of the Simpsons TV show has an exploding blimp.
There will always be unknown hazards with new technology whether it’s steam boilers or autonomous vehicles. How long did it take for safety glasses or seat belts to be invented? We are comfortable bringing natural gas into our homes to heat water. Every day we are inches away from electrocution. We fill our own cars and trucks with gasoline. We barbecue with propane and use high pressure welding and SCUBA cylinders. What is important is to learn from mistakes and not repeat them.
In 1921, The British 695 foot-long armed patrol hydrogen airship R38, sold to the U.S. Navy, experienced structural failure during flight test maneuvers in England. The resulting explosion broke windows over a wide area. 44 died out of a crew of 49.
In 1922, the rudder on the U.S. Army Italian-built Roma failed and the airship hit power lines and burned. 34 died out of a crew of 45.
In 1923, the French Naval airship Diximude, a German WWI reparation, burned in a thunderstorm off the coast of Sicily. All 52 on board perished.
In 1930, the British airship R101 on a maiden voyage to India dove into the ground in France and burned. 48 out of 54 died.
Dr, Addison Bain, a retired NASA hydrogen engineer, did superlative detective work investigating the hydrogen accident. He interviewed survivors, witnesses and airship designers in Germany and the U.S., collected photographs and did laboratory analyses of original materials. Read about Dr. Bain’s rigorous research and details of the Hindenburg’s demise in his book, Hindenburg: Exploring the Truth.