After the fire of the Hindenburg on May 6, 1937 in Lakehurst, New Jersey, parts of the aluminum structure and individual structural elements of the airship remained on the ground. The inspection of the wreckage was part of the final phase of documentary newsreel footage of the disaster. The remaining material served investigators and engineers as the basis for the examination of the cause of the fire. The Hindenburg disaster ended the era of commercial passenger airship travel.