When informed of this, Smith told the tower that he wanted to proceed to Newark, for that was where Col. Bogner was waiting for him. As well as claiming the lives of 14 people, the Empire State Building crash caused one million dollars worth of damage ($13 million today) including the destruction of a nearby penthouse art studio. With nearly zero visibility, the tower suggested that Smith not land. Just five months later while still recovering, Betty returned to the scene with an elevator inspector who was astonished at her guts for agreeing to travel in an elevator after her ordeal. based on information from your browser. Hundreds of people would have indelible memories of the events of that day. And men who ordinarily sold looks at the stars through their telescopes at night enjoyed a brisk business selling close-up views of the gaping hole in the Empire State Buildings north wall during daytime. Palmer and Norden tried to flee into a corridor, but the hallway was also engulfed in fire. The impact of the crash was felt throughout the building. We all felt a little better to know that someone knew we were there. The Empire State Building is a 102-story [c] Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. One man was standing inside the flame. The rescuers had placed Betty on a stretcher and put her in an elevator on the 79th floor. The accident killed fourteen people (three crewmen and eleven people in the building), and an estimated twenty-four others were injured. 15 cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. What we know is that she had three children with Oscar Lee and a total of seven grandchildren. Willig said a man on the street below saw the office workers trapped in the building and signaled to them to stay where they were. Little did she realize that the foggy conditions outside would turn her world upside down. Others were enjoying breakfast in the many Fifth Avenue restaurants. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Queens County, Resend Activation Email. On Smiths heels was a group of firefighters from Engine Company 54; together, they managed to rescue the hysterical survivors, many of them bruised, cut, and burned, and take them to safety on a lower floor. Victims of a B25 hitting the Empire State Building July 28, 1945. On west side of the 80th floor, less than 10 feet from where the plane had imbedded itself in the building, another drama was taking place. Come on, Joe! (Although Fountain managed to walk out of the fire and escape the building, his burns were too severe and he would succumb to his injuries a few days later.). Illinois, It was all set up to be just another ordinary day at work for the 20-year old. This account has been disabled. Please enter valid email address to continue. There were countless episodes of heroism performed that day. Smith, with no navigator on board and, erroneously believing that he was west of Manhattan over the Hudson River when, in fact, he was over the East River and heading into the heart of Manhattan, set a southwest course for what he thought was Newark. In a eulogy for those who lost their lives on that rainy Saturday in July, the New York Times editorialized, In his last moments, on a quiet Saturday morning, carrying no great load of explosives, poor Lieutenant Colonel Smith taught us something. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Unfortunately, some of our Army Pilots who have been coming into our municipal fields during this war emergency period have on occasion have [sic] not maintained the proper safe altitude.. An official report of the crash noted, Within two minutes this plane showed up directly southeast of La Guardia, and Mr. Barden, believing it intended to land, gave it runway, wind direction, and velocity. But Smith told the tower that his destination was Newark Army Air Field and that was where he wanted to go. What happened next was a Greek tragedy composed of many acts, all compressed into a few seconds. Betty was married at the time of the accident, and once she recovered eight months later, she returned to Fort Smith in Arizona to live with her husband, Oscar Lee. "And that was a connection with the rest of the world. The pilot and the two other men in the planeincluding a Navy machinist from Brooklynwere killed instantly and 11 people in the building or on the ground died. Empire State Building Disaster: Interior, 79th Fl. The plane crashed into the Empire State Building at about 200 mph and smashed through seven walls, according to the newsreel. An extensive Fire Department report issued by Commissioner Patrick Walsh on August 21, 1945, picks up the story, reporting that the plane hit between the 78th and 79th floors with such tremendous force that it made an 18-by-20-foot hole in what was then the tallest building in the world. The other engine plummeted down an elevator shaft and triggered a fire that lasted more than 40 minutes. Gloria Pall, pictured here in 1945, worked on the 56th floor of the Empire State Building when it was hit by a B-25 bomber. Dec. 2, 1945. But Smith was insistent. In response to one critical letter to the mayor, Goodhue Livingston Jr., LaGuardias executive secretary, noted that if the pilot had maintained the proper altitude when flying over Manhattan the accident would not have occurred. Barden then cleared Smith for Newark but advised him that he was unable to see the top of the Empire State Building from his perch in the tower. Eight months after the crash, the U.S. government offered money to families of the victims. The Empire State Building was enveloped in smoke after it was rammed by a U.S. Army B-25 bomber on July 28, 1945. Slightly less than an hour after he had left New Bedford, Lt. Col. Smith and the two men with him neared New York. As they turned the girl over to the medical personnel, she looked at them and said quietly, Thanks for saving my life.. As soon as they placed Betty on the elevator, the cables snapped, and Betty started to hurtle down towards the bottom of the elevator shaft. Even worse, flaming fuel spewed from the planes ruptured tanks, engulfing almost the entire 79th floor in fire, instantly immolating many of the 15 to 20 young women working in the Catholic War Relief Services office, and pouring down the stairwells and elevator shafts like molten lava. By the time she landed, the cable was there to provide a softer landing surface. In the immediate aftermath of the crash, she was certain it was all over for everyone on the floor. 227outlawing cowards. On July 28, 1945, a B-25 Mitchell bomber, piloted by Lt. Col. William Franklin Smith Jr. and carrying two others, was flying from New Bedford, Mass., to LaGuardia Airport in Queens. (LT2545). A Virtual Cemetery created by Kat Carter Empire State Building Hit by airplane 1945 Victims of a B25 hitting the Empire State Building July 28, 1945. Persons on the 80th and other floors were exposed to considerable smoke and heat. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. "I saw crowds of people just looking at each other and I said, 'What happened? There is a problem with your email/password. Unfortunately, less than a year later it happened again. Miraculously, the elevator systems emergency hydraulics applied brakes to the plunging car, and the severed cables beneath the elevator piled up and acted like a coiled spring that slowed the elevator as it fell. Palmer recalled, We were lifted three feet out of our chairs and thrown to the floor I thought it was a Jap bomb! Flames from the floor below covered the windows. New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who had been at City Hall when the first alarms were sounded, rushed to the scene. All 246 passengers and crew aboard the four planes were killed At the Twin Towers, 2,606 people died - then or later of injuries At the Pentagon, 125 people were killed The youngest victim was. In addition to the three men in the bomber, there were 11 fatalities in the building. The B-25 Mitchell bomber, with two. New York, The act wasn't sabotage, write. The teenage medic was not yet finished, however. Miraculously, Betty Lou survived with only a broken pelvis, back, and neck to complain about. NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Tuesday marked the 70th anniversary of a horrific incident, in which a small military plane crashed into the Empire State Building and left 19 people dead. A tall, broad-shouldered graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (class of 1942), where he had lettered in football and earned All-American honors in lacrosse, was home from the war. Now that you've read about the Empire State Building plane crash, read about these incredible New York City facts. Then check out these 1970s photos of life in New York City. The previous evening, she related, he had bounced their son, William F. Smith III, on his knee and said, The youngster recognized me for the first time since Ive been home. USA, Hawthorne, On July 28, 1945, Betty arrived at the Empire State Building where she worked as an elevator attendant. As rescue workers loaded Oliver into an Elevator for transport, the car's cables snapped and was sent into a 75-floor firey free fall to the building's basement. The first fire alarm was pulled at 9:52 a.m. and Mayor LaGuardia quickly rushed to the scene amid arriving fire trucks, ambulances and police cars. We climbed out through the broken glass. The plane crashed into the building between the 78 th and 79 th floors and took fourteen . The crash triggered a brief panic, launched several investigations and drew both praise and condemnation of the Citys feisty Mayor, Fiorello La Guardia. He noted that both her legs were badly burned but that her heavy elevator-operator uniform had protected most of the rest of her. As it transpired, the thousand feet of elevator cable had broken away and fallen to the bottom of the shaft before Betty landed. Weve updated the security on the site. "It was just wonderful. The events of the Empire State Building crash helped inspire the beginning of Halle Ephrons novel; There Was an Old Woman. The two men in the control tower, Victor Barden, chief operator, and Gerald Adie, supervising air traffic controller, advised him to circle back and land there rather than trying to make Newark. The three people on the plane were also killed. Offices; charred bodies on desk in background. A United States military plane crashes into the Empire State Building on July 28, 1945, killing 14 people. One engine flew through the south side of the building and landed a block away atop the roof of a factory on West 33rd St. Mayor LaGuardia Collection, NYC Municipal Archives. Thousands of other people also began runningsome toward the scene and others away from it. On July 28, 1945, a B-25 Mitchell bomber flew into the Empire State Building resulting in the deaths of 14 people, including 11 office workers and three crew members. We have set your language to While all this was happening, coming up the stairs was 26-year-old Harold J. Smith, a medically discharged veteran. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. In the aftermath of the crash, New York and the CAA (today the FAA) strengthened flight rules over the city, and the Army Air Force required additional training for pilots transitioning from combat to domestic flying. Six of us managed to get into this one office that seemed to be untouched by the fire and close the door before it engulfed us. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. And to keep the general euphoria in check, the War Department had just released figures showing that 5,741 American military personnel had been killed, wounded, or gone missing the week of July 21. In the end, the accident caused $1 million in damages to the reinforced masonry structure and to other buildings struck by flying debris, but workers were able to repair the Empire State Building within just three months. Looking out a window, he could see frightened women many floors above him, smoke billowing from the window behind them, shouting for help. However, the conditions were very difficult and much of . So I took them off my fingers and threw them out the window.". What happened?' Parts of a hurtling motor and other sections of the plane that passed entirely through the structure had brought fire to the roof and top floor of a thirteen-story building across the street from the scene of the original tragedy. USA, Plot info: Section: 036 | Row: L | Plot: 004. On the morning of Saturday, July 28, 1945, the Army Air Corps pilot crashed his Mitchell B-25 bomber into the 78th and 79th floor of the Empire State Building, CBS News recalled. Remarkably, Betty survived her second ordeal of the day with an extraordinary amount of luck by all accounts. Two days later on Monday, the Empire State Building was open again, according to the newsreel. Walter Daniels, an editor with the New York Times, was walking on 43rd Street on his way to work when the bomber zoomed overhead. Fourteen people died. Above the 70th floor, he encountered pools of fuel and oil, cascades of water coming down the stairs (some of the firemen had taken the still-operable elevators up to the 78th and 79th floors and were dousing the fires), scorched walls, and a thick, choking smoke. In a few seconds, she would be dead at just 20 years of age; with no opportunity to achieve any of her goals in life nor would she see her husband again. Her entire life must surely have passed before her eyes as the elevator rocketed towards the ground. The three crewmembers and 13 others were killed instantly, and a body was found seven stories down, according to the newsreel. She didnt realize that it was the last time she would ever see him. In 1985, the 14th Street Bridge was renamed in honor of Arland Williams,. The 27-year-old lieutenant colonel, formally known as William Franklin Smith, Jr., was the deputy commander of the 457th Bombardment Group, a unit recently deployed from overseas. July 28, 1945. Empire State Building Disaster: Interior, S corner, 79th Fl. The Empire State Building was enveloped in smoke after it was rammed by a U.S. Army B-25 bomber on July 28, 1945. Empire State Building Disaster: Interior, W side of 79th Fl, facing E; 12:30 pm, July 28, 1945. The New York Daily News story began: A fog-blind B-25 Mitchell bomber, groping its way southward across Manhattan to Newark Airport crashed into the 79th-floor of the 1,250-foot Empire State Building turning the worlds tallest building into a torch in the sky high above 34th St. and Fifth Avenue. That morning the Mayor took to the airwaves with his Talk to the People program, offered condolences to the families of all the victims and read Lt. Gen. Eakers letter aloud. People were screaming and looking at each other. Therefore, it may be assumed that he was mistaken in his establishment of his position with respect to the Lower Manhattan area. Arnold said the military had taken measures to avoid a similar accident in the future by better communication between the military and air traffic control and by establishing local traffic routes for Army aircraft in the metropolitan area. Bogner, before returning to South Dakota. The pilot and the two other men in the planeincluding a Navy machinist from Brooklynwere killed instantly and 11 people in the building or on the ground died. Two women working in an office suite on that floor, miraculously untouched by the disaster, rushed to her aid. A man hovers over a piece debris from the B-25 Bomber near 33rd Street. His whole body was on fire. USA, Middle Village, Despite the damage, much of the building was open for business on the Monday two days after the accident. At the moment of impact, one of the B-25s engines ripped from its wing mount and hurtled across 80 feet of the 79th floor, through walls and partitions, and burst from the south side of the building, whereupon it crashed down upon a 12-story building at 10 West 33rd Street and started a fire that destroyed the penthouse studio of sculptor Henry Hering. Within seconds Smith found himself in a canyon of skyscrapers, totally confused and lost. Somehow, against all odds, he had survived the war and was now stateside, enjoying a few days with his wife Martha, a former Army nurse, and their infant son in Watertown, Massachusetts, outside of Boston. "It threw me across the room, and I landed against the wall. The other engine rammed its way through office walls, dropped into one of the 10 elevator shafts, and fell all the way to the sub-basement 1,000 feet below, taking an empty elevator car with it. Bill Smith seemingly had everything going for him. The crash caused her to be thrown out of her vehicle, and as well as suffering from severe burns, Betty had a broken pelvis, back, and neck. At the time, the Empire State Building was the tallest in the world, and Smith crashed between the 78 th and 80 th floors. Other pieces of the plane landed on the street and on top of nearby structures. "A couple of the women had passed out from the smoke, and I had a handkerchief in my pocket, and so I used that to cover my nose and my mouth to protect me from the fumes. They saw a female elevator operator who was badly burned and screaming. Tagged: Empire State Building, Aviation disasters, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, Skyscrapers, Find out more about the NYC Department of Records at nyc.gov/records. Despite suffering horrific injuries, were not aware if it had any long-term physical or psychological injuries because Betty stayed off the radar completely once she went back to Arizona. The fire trapped hundreds of office workers, including Willig and Pall. Upon crashing between the 78th and 80th floors of the building's north side, the plane's fuel exploded, filling the skyscraper with flames. July 28, 2015 / 8:11 PM Some of the images on this site may be subject to third-party rights such as copyright and/or rights of privacy/publicity. Columbus Day 1944: Mayor Fiorello LaGuardias broadcasts to Italy during World War II, NYC Department of Records & Information Services, 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007, USA, Photoville 2016: Pretty Girl Charged with Clever Swindle, Lomex: Robert Moses and the Battle for Downtown, NYC Department of Records & Information Services, The Empire State Plane Crash, July 28, 1945, Preserving Malis Motion Picture Film Heritage, From Marketfield to the Greenmarket, Part II: The Market Man, A Charter for New Amsterdam: February 2, 1653, From Marketfield to the Greenmarket, Part I, The Rev. With the foundation of the Empire State Building Corporation and his new role as its president, Smith announced the plans for the record-breaking building on August 29, 1929. The bomber itself was a B-25 that had 2 pilots and 1 passenger. They were terrible injuries, but it was clear that Betty would survive as first aid workers helped her and placed her on an elevator to the ground floor. he radioed La Guardia Field and was informed that he was already 15 miles south of the airport.

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