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1945 Empire State Building B-25 crash

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Coordinates: 40°44′55″N 73°59′08″W / 40.74861°N 73.98556°W / 40.74861; -73.98556

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aviation accident in New York City

[[Bedford, Massachusetts]]"},"destination":{"wt":"[[Newark Liberty International Airport|Newark Metropolitan Airport]]"},"crew":{"wt":"3"},"alt":{"wt":""},"ground_injuries":{"wt":"24"},"plane1_image":{"wt":"North American B-25 Mitchell.JPG"},"coordinates":{"wt":"{{Coord|40|44|55|N|73|59|08|W|display=title|region:US_type:event}}"},"passengers":{"wt":""},"missing":{"wt":""},"survivors":{"wt":"0"},"stopover":{"wt":""},"stopover0":{"wt":""},"last_stopover":{"wt":""},"total_injuries":{"wt":"24"},"ground_fatalities":{"wt":"11"},"total_fatalities":{"wt":"14"},"occupants":{"wt":"3"}},"i":0}}]}'>1945 Empire State Building B-25 crashThe Empire State Building on fire following the crash<br>AccidentDateJuly 28, 1945SummaryControlled flight into terrain (building) in inclement weather conditions (fog)SiteEmpire State Building, New York City, United States<br>40°44′55″N 73°59′08″W / 40.74861°N 73.98556°W / 40.74861; -73.98556[[Geographic coordinate system|Coordinates]]: {{#parsoid\u0000fragment:7}}[https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=1945_Empire_State_Building_B-25_crash&params=40_44_55_N_73_59_08_W_region:US_type:event 40°44′55″N 73°59′08″W&#xfeff; / &#xfeff;40.74861°N 73.98556°W&#xfeff; / 40.74861; -73.98556][[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]"}}'/>

Total fatalities14Total injuries24Aircraft<br>A B-25 Mitchell similar to the aircraft involved in the incidentAircraft typeNorth American B-25 MitchellAircraft nameOld John Feather MerchantOperatorUnited States Army Air ForcesRegistration41-30577Flight originBedford Army Air Field<br>Bedford, MassachusettsDestinationNewark Metropolitan AirportOccupants3Crew3Fatalities3Survivors0Ground casualtiesGround fatalities11Ground injuries24

On July 28, 1945, a B-25 Mitchell bomber of the United States Army Air Forces accidentally crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building in New York City 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 US$1 million (equivalent to about $18 million in 2025), but the building's structural integrity was not compromised.[1]

Incident<br>[edit]

On Saturday, July 28, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel William Franklin Smith Jr., of Watertown, Massachusetts,[2] was piloting a B-25 Mitchell bomber on a routine personnel transport mission from Bedford Army Air Field in Massachusetts. Due to thick fog, the aircraft was unable to land at LaGuardia Airport as scheduled.[3] The pilot requested to divert to Newark Metropolitan Airport in New Jersey.[3][4][5][6] Smith asked for clearance to land, but he was advised of zero visibility.[7] Proceeding anyway, he became disoriented by the fog and turned right instead of left after flying dangerously close to the Chrysler Building on East 42nd Street.[3][8]

The plane embedded in the side of the building<br>At 9:40 a.m., the aircraft crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building, between the 78th and 80th floors, making an 18-by-20-foot (5.5 m × 6.1 m) hole in the building[9] into the offices of the War Relief Services and the National Catholic Welfare Council. One engine shot through the south side opposite the impact, flew as far as the next block, dropped 900 feet (270 m), 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.[9]

Between 50 and 60 sightseers were on the 86th floor observation deck when the crash happened. Fourteen people were killed: Lieutenant Colonel William Franklin Smith Jr., Staff Sergeant Christopher Domitrovich, Aviation Machinist's Mate Albert Perna, who was hitching a ride, and 11 civilians in the building.[1] 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.[10] Approximately 20 to 24 others were injured as a result of the crash.[11][12] 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...