Port's Hindenburg Connection 75 Years Later

It’s been 75 years since the , but Port Washington will forever remain linked to the deadly fireball and crash.

That’s because John and Emma Pannes, who owned a home on Woodland Drive in Plandome, perished in the fiery wreck. The couple, married with two adult children, took the airship back from Germany after sailing to Europe in April.

The final flight of the Hindenburg, with 36 passengers and a crew of 61, left Frankfurt, Germany on May 3, 1937 bound for the U.S. Its destination was the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, N.J.

The Hindenburg was 803 feet long, the largest aircraft ever to fly.

According to a survivor’s account in Harpers Magazine, Emma Pannes pointed out Manhasset Bay as the airship flew over New York headed toward its destiny.

John Pannes, 60, was New York manager of the Hamburg-America Line. Emma Pannes was 56. Their son, Hilgard, then 19, drove to meet them.

The zeppelin hovered over the airfield for three hours on the afternoon of May 6, waiting out poor weather. It burst into flames at 7:25 p.m. as it attempted to moor. Both husband and wife were among 35 dead in one of the most memorable tragedies of the 20th century.