B-25 Empire State Building crash
Encyclopedia
The B-25 Empire State Building crash was a 1945 aircraft accident in which a B-25 Mitchell
piloted in thick fog crashed into the Empire State Building
. While the structural integrity of the building was not compromised, fourteen people died (three crewmen and eleven in the building) and one million US dollars' damage was done.
William Franklin Smith, Jr. was piloting a B-25 Mitchell
bomber on a routine personnel transport mission from Boston to LaGuardia Airport
. Smith asked for clearance to land, but was advised of zero visibility. Proceeding anyway, he was disoriented by the fog, and started turning right instead of left after passing the Chrysler Building
. At 9:40 a.m., the plane crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building
, between the 78th and 80th floors, carving an 18 ft (5.5 m) x 20 ft (6.1 m) hole in the building where the offices of the National Catholic Welfare Council
were located.
One engine shot through the side opposite the impact and flew as far as the next block where it landed on the roof of a nearby building, starting a fire that destroyed a penthouse. The other engine and part of the landing gear plummeted down an elevator shaft. The resulting fire was extinguished in 40 minutes. It is still the only fire at such a height that was ever successfully controlled. Fourteen people were killed in the incident, and elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver
was injured. After rescuers decided to transport her on an elevator which they did not know had weakened cables, it plunged 75 stories. She survived the plunge, which still stands as the Guinness World Record
for the longest survived elevator fall recorded.
Despite the damage and loss of life, the building was open for business on many floors on the following Monday. The crash helped spur the passage of the long-pending Federal Tort Claims Act
of 1946, as well as the insertion of retroactive provisions into the law, allowing people to sue the government for the accident.
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
piloted in thick fog crashed into the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
. While the structural integrity of the building was not compromised, fourteen people died (three crewmen and eleven in the building) and one million US dollars' damage was done.
Details
On Saturday, July 28, 1945, Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
William Franklin Smith, Jr. was piloting a B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
bomber on a routine personnel transport mission from Boston to LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
. Smith asked for clearance to land, but was advised of zero visibility. Proceeding anyway, he was disoriented by the fog, and started turning right instead of left after passing the Chrysler Building
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
. At 9:40 a.m., the plane crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
, between the 78th and 80th floors, carving an 18 ft (5.5 m) x 20 ft (6.1 m) hole in the building where the offices of the National Catholic Welfare Council
National Catholic Welfare Council
The National Catholic Welfare Council was the annual meeting of the American Catholic hierarchy and its standing secretariat; it was established in 1919 as the successor to the emergency organization, the National Catholic War Council....
were located.
One engine shot through the side opposite the impact and flew as far as the next block where it landed on the roof of a nearby building, starting a fire that destroyed a penthouse. The other engine and part of the landing gear plummeted down an elevator shaft. The resulting fire was extinguished in 40 minutes. It is still the only fire at such a height that was ever successfully controlled. Fourteen people were killed in the incident, and elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver
Betty Lou Oliver
Betty Lou Oliver is best known as the 1940s elevator attendant for the Empire State Building who survived two large accidents on the same day.-Accidents:...
was injured. After rescuers decided to transport her on an elevator which they did not know had weakened cables, it plunged 75 stories. She survived the plunge, which still stands as the Guinness World Record
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
for the longest survived elevator fall recorded.
Despite the damage and loss of life, the building was open for business on many floors on the following Monday. The crash helped spur the passage of the long-pending Federal Tort Claims Act
Federal Tort Claims Act
The Federal Tort Claims Act or "FTCA", , is a statute enacted by the United States Congress in 1948. "Federal Tort Claims Act" was also previously the official short title passed by the Seventy-ninth Congress on August 2, 1946 as Title IV of the Legislative Reorganization Act, 60 Stat...
of 1946, as well as the insertion of retroactive provisions into the law, allowing people to sue the government for the accident.
See also
- 1946 40 Wall Street Plane crash
- 2001 September 11 attacks
- 2002 Tampa plane crash2002 Tampa plane crashThe 2002 Tampa plane crash was an incident that occurred on Saturday, January 5, 2002. The incident occurred when a high-school student of Eastlake High in Tarpon Springs, Florida, Charles J. Bishop, inspired by the September 11 attacks, stole a Cessna 172 and crashed it into the side of the Bank...
- 2002 Pirelli Tower plane crash2002 Pirelli Tower plane crashOn April 18, 2002, a Rockwell Commander 112 crashed into the upper floors of the Pirelli Tower in Milan, Italy, for reasons still unclear. The crash killed the pilot and two others in the building at 17:48...
- 2006 New York City plane crash2006 New York City plane crashThe 2006 New York City plane crash occurred on October 11, 2006, when a Cirrus SR20 general aviation, fixed-wing, single-engine light aircraft crashed into the Belaire Apartments in New York City at about 2:42 p.m. local time...
- 2010 Austin suicide attack
- Skyscraper fireSkyscraper fireA skyscraper fire or high-rise fire is a class of structural fire specific to tall buildings. Skyscraper fires are one of the most technical fire suppression challenges posed to modern fire departments, and require a high degree of organization and cooperation among participating units to be...
External links
- On This Day in Aviation History: July 28th
- Video Footage
- Bomber Crash into Empire State Building, engineering case study calculating the impact force of the bomber