Inferno of the vanities; It was a stuningly brash symbol of Nazi power. So when the Hindenburg exploded into a fireball, sabotage was suspected. Now, a TV documentary sheds a fascinating new light on the cause of the world's most famous air disaster.

Byline: CHRISTOPHER HUDSON

AS THE shadow passed over them, people in Manhattan looked up and waved at the great red and black swastikas. Along Broadway, the traffic stopped.

Excited crowds craned their necks and cheered. Taxis and buses honked their horns enthusiastically. In that spring of 1937, as the symbol of Nazi power sailed gracefully round the Empire State Building, the sun came out and glittered on the Hindenburg's silver frame.

She wasn't just any airship. She was, and remains, the largest flying craft ever built, almost as long as the…