Most, not all of the 97 passengers and crew died. Sixty-two survived.
The survival of many people in the Hindenburg disaster seems unbelievable because the famous newsreel images show the airship consumed in flames. Yet most of the people aboard actually survived.
Here's how:
--First, the fire spread very quickly upward, not instantly through the passenger areas. The hydrogen gas that lifted the LZ 129 Hindenburg burned in the upper gas cells of the ship. The passenger decks were located lower in the hull, beneath the gas bags. That gave some people precious seconds to react.
--Second, the airship was very close to the ground when it ignited. The Hindenburg had already begun its landing maneuver at Lakehurst Naval Air Station and was only about 200 feet above the field when the fire started. As the ship collapsed, many people simply jumped from windows or gangways once the structure dropped lower. Several survivors described jumping from heights of 15 to 30 feet, which can be survivable compared with the inferno behind them.
--Third, the structure did not explode like a bomb. The hydrogen burned extremely fast, but it produced more of a flash fire than a massive blast wave. The aluminum frame of the zeppelin remained standing for several seconds as the burning fabric fell away. This allowed passengers and crew to escape through openings.
--Fourth, there was immediate help on the ground. Navy personnel and ground crew were already assembled to receive the airship. They rushed in within seconds to pull survivors away from the wreckage. Most of the victims were people who were trapped in the rear of the ship, where the fire likely began. Crew members working near the tail had little chance to escape once the flames raced forward through the structure.
One of the most haunting aspects of the disaster is how quickly it happened. The entire airship was destroyed in about 34 seconds, yet those seconds were just long enough for dozens of people to leap clear and survive.
The iconic radio broadcast by Herbert Morrison, who cried “Oh, the humanity,” helped fix the disaster in the public imagination as total destruction.
In reality, it was chaotic and horrific, but not quite the total loss that the footage suggests. Ironically, that survival rate is one reason investigators long debated the exact cause of the fire. The evidence was badly destroyed, leaving the precise ignition source a mystery even today.*
*Many experts believe the airship struck the metal mooring tower causing a spark that led to the detonation of the hydrogen gas.
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