On May 6, 1937, the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and crashed while attempting to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The disaster killed 36 people, including passengers and crew. The cause of the fire remains debated, though it was likely a spark that ignited the hydrogen gas used to inflate the airship. The explosion occurred while the Hindenburg was just 200 feet from the ground. This event marked the end of the era of passenger airships and changed the future of aviation.