 The first non @-@ stop transatlantic crossing was made by the British airship <unk> in 1919 . Regular passenger service resumed in the 1920s and the discovery of helium reserves in the United States promised increased safety , but the U.S. government refused to sell the gas for this purpose . Therefore , H2 was used in the Hindenburg airship , which was destroyed in a midair fire over New Jersey on 6 May 1937 . The incident was broadcast live on radio and filmed . Ignition of leaking hydrogen is widely assumed to be the cause , but later investigations pointed to the ignition of the aluminized fabric coating by static electricity . But the damage to hydrogen 's reputation as a lifting gas was already done . 
