When the Hindenburg airship erupted into flames over Lakehurst, New Jersey, in May 1937, chief steward Heinrich Kubis remained focused on helping passengers escape the burning aircraft.

Kubis, who is regarded as the world’s first flight attendant, was inside the dining room when the disaster began. As the enormous hydrogen-filled airship descended toward the ground, he encouraged passengers to escape through the windows before getting out himself.

The Hindenburg was one of the most advanced passenger airships of its era. Its first flight took place in May 1936, and during its first season it completed 17 successful one-way transatlantic crossings — 10 to North America and seven to South America.

From Luxury Hotels to the Airship Industry

Kubis was born in Germany in 1888 and initially worked in the European luxury hotel industry. His career included positions at the Hôtel Ritz in Paris and the Carlton Hotel in London before he moved into the emerging airship industry.

In 1912, Kubis began working for the German airship company DELAG aboard the Zeppelin LZ-10 Schwaben. According to Guinness World Records, he initially worked largely on his own before an assistant steward joined him aboard a 20-passenger Zeppelin. His pioneering role eventually earned him recognition as the world’s first flight attendant.

Kubis later became chief steward aboard the LZ-129 Hindenburg, where he supervised a team of male attendants.

The Hindenburg represented a major development in long-distance air travel, significantly reducing the time required to cross the Atlantic. Its successful crossings helped establish it as a symbol of luxury and technological progress.

The Hindenburg Bursts Into Flames

On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg was approaching the mooring mast at Lakehurst Naval Station in New Jersey when disaster struck.

The airship was maneuvering between storms when it suddenly caught fire. Within approximately 34 seconds, flames had consumed the hydrogen-filled aircraft.

The disaster caused passengers and crew members to fall from the burning airship. Thirty-five people aboard the Hindenburg died, along with one member of the ground crew.

Despite the scale of the disaster, 62 people survived, including Kubis, according to the Smithsonian.

Kubis Helped Passengers Escape

Kubis was in the dining room when the fire began. As the Hindenburg moved toward the ground, he encouraged passengers to jump through a window to escape.

He then exited the aircraft himself and survived the landing without injury.

His actions did not end once the airship reached the ground. Kubis also tried to help other survivors in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

One of those survivors was Werner Franz, a 14-year-old cabin boy who had been working aboard the Hindenburg.

Franz later remembered the moments after the crash and Kubis’ efforts to encourage him to help others.

“No one could speak, least of all me,” he recalled to The Times before his death in 2014. “I was crying until chief steward Kubis came over to me and put an arm around my shoulders and said ‘Come on! Pull yourself together. Go and see if you can help anyone.’ So I ran back to the ship, but of course there was nothing I could do.”

Franz’s recollection provides a personal account of Kubis’ behavior in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, when survivors were confronted with the devastation around them.

Kubis Survived the Disaster

Kubis was among the people who escaped the burning airship. His survival allowed him to later provide testimony during a U.S. inquiry into the Hindenburg disaster.

After appearing at the inquiry, Kubis returned to Germany, where he lived until his death in the 1970s.

The Hindenburg disaster remains one of the most recognizable tragedies in the history of air travel. While the loss of life made the May 6, 1937, disaster infamous, the survival stories of passengers and crew members also became an important part of its history.

Among those stories is that of Heinrich Kubis, whose position as chief steward placed him inside the dining room when the airship caught fire and who, according to the account, encouraged passengers to escape before making his own way out of the burning aircraft.