On May 6, 1937, the LZ 129 Hindenburg, a German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship and lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume, caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst (NJ). The accident caused 35 fatalities (13 passengers and 22 crewmen) from the 97 people on board (36 passengers and 61 crewmen), and an additional fatality on the ground. Hear Robert Buchanan, youngest member of the airfield ground crew, offer his recollection of the disaster as if unfolded around him.

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On May 6, 1937, Robert Buchanan, youngest member of the Naval Air Station Lakehurst (NJ) ground crew, was eye-witness to the Hindenburg disaster, which killed 13 passengers, 22 crewmen, and a person on the ground.