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Ba 8) 26 eC OE Bt iit ed Wd. dropped at exactly 7:21 D.S.T., and this was followed immediately by the port trail ropee These ropes which were dropped from the forward part of the ship appeared to be very dry and gave off dust at the time that they fell to the earth, even though the ground itsd@f was soaking wets At the time of dropping theese trail ropes, Lt. Tyler is of the opinion that the Hindenburg was two hundred feet in the aire fhe port trail rope, upon striking the ground, was immediately taken up by the ground crew, and was ; coupled to the port yawl guide linee The port yawl guide line rope was then passed around the niggerhead of the yawl guide tower and a slight strain was taken up. The forward group took hold of the guide ropes pending attachment of the yawl guide ropes. after dropping the trail ropes, Lt. Tyler states that the ship appeared to rise and started to drift, but that this drift was checked by taking up the slack on the port trail rope. The starboard yawl guide nose was still unattached but was being manned by the grounding crew. According to Lt. Tyler, the list aft in the stern is not a condition that is unusual in airships at the time they are attempting to land, but usually every effort is made to trim an airship upon landing, so that it is on even keel. He did state that he notioed all of the ballast discharged from the Hindenburg upon her approach was discharged aft and it was his re- collection there was only one discharge of ballast. He also stated that to his recollection the rear trail ropes are attached at a point forward of the lower fin and are used primarily in hauling the stern down to the ground after control of the ship is gained at the nose. Tyler states that he is positive that no lines or ropes were dropped aft from the Hindenburg nor had any portion of the ship aft touched the ground prior to the explosion. Getting back to the landing operations, he stated that the starboard trail rops was about to be attached to the starboard yawl guide, and that in connection therewith, it was in the process of being attached to the niggerhead. In his opinion, the ship was definitely under control of the ground crew at the forward points, and he states that the ground crew was ready to land the ship. Regarding his position at this time, Lt. Tyler related that he was forward and slightly on the port side of the ship facing afte While