On July 28, 1945, a B-25 Mitchell bomber of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

accidentally crashed into the north side of the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

while flying in thick fog. The crash killed fourteen people (three crewmen and eleven people in the building), and an estimated twenty-four others were injured. Damage caused by the crash was estimated at (equivalent to about $ million in ), but the building's structural integrity was not compromised.

Incident

On Saturday, July 28, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel William Franklin Smith Jr., of

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Sq ...

, was piloting a B-25 Mitchell bomber on a routine personnel transport mission from Bedford Army Air Field in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Due to thick fog, the aircraft was unable to land at

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

as scheduled. The pilot requested to divert to Newark Metropolitan Airport in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Smith asked for clearance to land, but he was advised of zero visibility. Proceeding anyway, he became disoriented by the fog and turned right instead of left after flying dangerously close to the

Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is a , Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world wit ...

on East 42nd Street. Bomber Crashed into Empire State Building 1945

At 9:40 a.m., the aircraft crashed into the north side of the

, between the 78th and 80th floors, making an hole in the building into the offices of the War Relief Services and the

National Catholic Welfare Council The National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC) 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. It c ...

. One engine shot through the south side opposite the impact, flew as far as the next block, dropped , landed on the roof of a nearby building and caused a fire that destroyed a penthouse art studio. The other engine and part of the landing gear fell down an elevator shaft, severing its cables. The resulting fire was extinguished in 40 minutes. The Empire State Building fire is the highest structural fire to be brought under control by New York firefighters. Between 50 and 60 sightseers were on the 86th floor observation deck when the crash happened. Fourteen people were killed: Colonel Smith, Staff Sergeant Christopher Domitrovich, Navy Aviation Machinist's Mate Albert Perna, who was hitching a ride, and 11 civilians in the building. Perna's body was not found until two days later, when search crews discovered that his body had entered an elevator shaft and fallen to the bottom. The other two crewmen were burned beyond recognition. Approximately 20 to 24 others were injured as a result of the crash. Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver was thrown from her elevator car on the 80th floor and suffered severe burns. First aid workers placed her on another elevator car to transport her to the ground floor, but the cables supporting that elevator had been damaged in the incident, and it fell 75 stories, ending up in the basement. Oliver survived this 1,000 feet fall due to the softening cushion of air created by the falling elevator car within this elevator shaft; however, she had suffered a broken pelvis, back and neck when rescuers found her amongst the rubble. This remains the world record for the longest survived elevator fall. The occupants of that elevator were rescued, in part, by Donald P. Molony. Empire State Building plane crash wreckage 1945

Empire State Building plane crash wreckage 1945

Aftermath

Despite the damage and deaths, the building was open for business on many floors on the next Monday morning, less than 48 hours later. After the debris had been cleared away,

Armand Hammer Armand Hammer (May 21, 1898 – December 10, 1990) was an American businessman and philanthropist. The son of a Russian Empire-born communist activist, Hammer trained as a physician before beginning his career in trade with the newly estab ...

purchased the damaged 78th floor, refurbished it, and made it the headquarters of his United Distillers of America. The crash spurred the passage of the long-pending

Federal Tort Claims Act The Federal Tort Claims Act (August 2, 1946, ch. 646, Title IV, 28 U.S.C. Part VI, Chapter 171and ) ("FTCA") is a 1946 federal statute that permits private parties to sue the United States in a federal court for most torts committed by pers ...

, which was signed into law by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in August 1946, initiating retroactive provisions into the law and allowing people to sue the government for the accident. On July 24, 1946, four days before the first anniversary of the crash, another aircraft narrowly missed striking the building. The unidentified twin-engine plane, described as bearing no military insignia, flew past the 68th floor, startling workers and tourists. The events of the crash were the subject of an episode of the 2001

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

channel documentary ''

Disasters of the Century ''Disasters of the Century'' is a documentary television series that airs on History Television. The program is produced by Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province o ...

'', "It Came from the Sky".

References

External links

On This Day in Aviation History: July 28th
nbsp;– NYCAviation *
Bomber Crash into Empire State Building
engineering case study calculating the impact force of the bomber (Archived fro

on 2004-07-15. Retrieved 2016-06-26.) *
Empire State Crash
nbsp;– Video produced by the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Series ''

History Detectives ''History Detectives'' was a documentary television series on PBS. It featured investigations made by members of a small team of researchers to identify and/or authenticate items which may have historical significance or connections to important h ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Empire State Building B-25 crash Empire State Building B-25 crash Accidents and incidents involving military aircraft Aviation accidents and incidents in New York City Empire State Building B-25 crash Aviation accidents and incidents involving fog Commercial building fires in New York City 1945 B-25 crash Empire State Building B-25 crash High-rise fires in the United States 1945 disasters in the United States Aviation accidents and incidents in 1945

Incident

Aftermath

See also

References

External links