Oh, the humanity! The Hindenburg explosion is explained after 75 years

Talk about a cold case. More than 75 years after the famous Hindenburg passenger airship exploded into a ball of fire over a Navy air station, scientists have finally figured out what went wrong, by blowing up scale models of the blimp. They say static electricity was the dirty culprit in the 1937 disaster that killed 35 people and permanently crumbled the era of passenger zeppelins. After the Hindenburg hit a thunderstorm, it became charged with static, and a broken wire or a stuck gas valve leaked hydrogen into the ventilation shafts. When crews on the ground ran to take the landing ropes they "grounded" the craft, causing a spark and igniting the built-up hydrogen. [Source]

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