— 14 AP. “Negligence Not…Issue in Crash Probe.” Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, NY, 8-1-1945, p.1.
— 14 Baugher, Joseph F. 1941 USAAF Serial Numbers (41-24340 to 41-30847). 9-12-2011 rev.
— 14 Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 34.
— 14 History.com. “This Day in Disaster History, Disaster, July 28, 1945.” Plane Crashes.
— 14 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V3, Aug 1944-Dec 1945, p1143.
— 14 NFPA. “Empire State Building Fire.” Quarterly of the NFPA, V39, N1, Oct 1945, p. 96.
— 14 National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996.
— 13 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 369
— 13 National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).
— 13 Wikipedia. “Timeline of New York City Crimes and Disasters.”
Narrative Information
Baugher: “North American B-25D-20 Mitchell….30577 (“Old John Feather Merchant”) collided with Empire State Building, New York in fog Jul 28, 1945. 3 on aircraft plus 11 on ground killed. Plane had left Boston for La Guardia, NY in marginal weather conditions. Pilot really wanted to land at Newark and browbeat the ground controllers into letting him do so. While crossing NYC, the aircraft flew into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1941 USAAF Serial Numbers (41-24340 to 41-30847). 9-12-2011 rev.)
Gero: “Apparently becoming uncer¬tain of his position, the pilot turned from a south¬westerly to a southerly heading approximately over the Rockefeller Center, and while flying at too low an altitude. Ahead was the giant Empire State Building, towering to 1,250 ft (380m), the top third of which was shrouded by fog, with an overcast of approximately 800 ft (250m). Pulling up just before impact, the aircraft was in a near-vertical attitude when it struck the skyscraper at its 79th Floor, some 900 ft (275m) above 34th Street….
“Although the clearance given him was considered a contributing factor, the Army primarily blamed the accident on an error in judgment on the part of the pilot for proceeding over Manhattan under the prevailing conditions. Subsequently, the US Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) raised the minimum altitude over lower Manhattan Island from 1,000ft (300m) above all obstructions to 2,500ft (750m) absolute.” (Gero 1999, 34)
History.com: “A United States military plane crashes into the Empire State Building on this day in 1945, killing 14 people. The freak accident was caused by heavy fog.
“The B-25 Mitchell bomber [43-0577], with two pilots and one passenger aboard, was flying from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to LaGuardia Airport in New York City. As it came into the metropolitan area on that Saturday morning, the fog was particularly thick. Air-traffic controllers instructed the plane to fly to Newark Airport instead.
“This new flight plan took the plane over Manhattan; the crew was specifically warned that the Empire State Building, the tallest building in the city at the time, was not visible. The bomber was flying relatively slowly and quite low, seeking better visibility, when it came upon the Chrysler Building in midtown. It swerved to avoid the building but the move sent it straight into the north side of the Empire State Building, near the 79th floor….
“Upon impact, the plane’s jet fuel exploded, filling the interior of the building with flames all the way down to the 75th floor and sending flames out of the hole the plane had ripped open in the building’s side. One engine from the plane went straight through the building and landed in a penthouse apartment across the street. Other plane parts ended up embedded in and on top of nearby buildings. The other engine snapped an elevator cable while at least one woman was riding in the elevator car. The emergency auto brake saved the woman from crashing to the bottom, but the engine fell down the shaft and landed on top of it. Quick-thinking rescuers pulled the woman from the elevator, saving her life.
“Since it was a Saturday, fewer workers than normal were in the building. Only 11 people in the building were killed, some suffering burns from the fiery jet fuel and others after being thrown out of the building. All 11 victims were workers from War Relief Services department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, into the offices of which the plane had crashed. The three people on the plane were also killed….
“An 18 foot by 20 foot hole was left in the side of the Empire State Building. Though its structural integrity was not affected, the crash did cause nearly $1 million in damages…” (History.com. Disaster, July 28, 1945. Plane Crashes into Empire State Building)
Mireles: “At 0952 EWT, a North American B-25D flying in instrument conditions collided with the Empire State Building, New York, New York, killing three servicemen aboard the bomber. Eleven civilians were killed and 26 were injured when the airplane slammed into the 79th floor of the 1,250-foot building on the 34th Street side and exploded into flames. The Empire State Building was the world’s tallest building at the time of the collision….
“The airplane took off from Bedford Army Air Field, Bedford, Massachu¬setts, on a flight to New York City; the flight had orig¬inated at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Perna [Aviation Machinist Mate] boarded the airplane at Bedford. The airplane was cleared on a con¬tact clearance to LaGuardia Airport, Long Island, New York. When the airplane arrived in the area of La¬Guardia Airport, the pilot requested permission from air traffic controllers to be cleared to Newark, New Jer¬sey. The request was granted but the pilot was advised that he should return to LaGuardia if visibility fell below three miles. The pilot apparently inadvertently entered instrument conditions and lost track of his po¬sition. The airplane dropped out of the fog and turned to a southerly heading, flying directly toward the Em¬pire State Building, the top of which was enveloped in fog.
“The pilot observed that a collision with the building was imminent and attempted to pull up. The B-25D, flying at over 200 mph, pulled up sharply and banked slightly to left but could not avoid a collision, smashing into the north side of the building at the 79th floor and exploding into flames. Pieces of the bomber passed clear through the building and emerged on the opposite side, striking buildings and rooftops below. Flaming gasoline and wreckage exploded through the building, smashing down people and severing eleva¬tor cables. Three elevators fell over 1,000 feet to the basement level, killing two elevator operators and a rider. One of the airplane’s engines smashed into an el¬evator shaft, severing the cables and then falling down the shaft onto the shattered car below. The other en¬gine smashed through the building and shot out of the south side of the structure, leaving a large hole where it had exited. The engine landed on the roof of the 12-story Waldorf Building on 33rd Street, causing minor damage. Several people who were killed on the 79th floor were employees of the National Catholic Welfare Council War Relief Services. Paul Dearing, 35, North Tarrytown, New York, a reporter for the Buffalo Courier Express (New York), jumped to his death from the 86th floor to escape the flames. His body was found on the 72nd floor parapet. Another body was found on the 65th floor parapet, apparently blown out of the building by the exploding airplane, which left a gap¬ing 15-foot hole in the side of the structure. Several floors were damaged by fire and hundreds of windows were shattered. Airplane wreckage and building de¬bris fell to the street below. Published accounts reported that debris fell to the street for 30 minutes following the collision. A female elevator operator opened the door of her cage on the 75th floor an instant before the bomber struck. She had stepped out of the elevator and was blown to the other side of the elevator lobby when the B-25 hit. She survived. Pieces of the airplane were imbedded in the exterior of the building and pieces of one of the propellers were found lodged in an interior wall. The blast had cleared the fog away from the build¬ing, but after several minutes the fog surrounded the top of the building again. A light drizzle was preva¬lent at the time of the accident. Published accounts of the accident reported that 35 people were on the 86th floor Observation Deck at the time of the collision. Louis Petley, 54, New York, an employee of the Em¬pire State Building, guided them to safety. New York firefighters reached the 75th floor at 1035.” (Mireles 2006, 1143-1144.)
NFPA: “….When the bomber crashed, part of a wing entered the west portion of the 79th floor, which was occupied by the National Catholic Welfare Conference, War Relief Services. The flaming gasoline from wing tanks sprayed throughout the north section of this area, where ten employees working at their desks were fatally burned. Fire flashed rapidly toward the south of this office and seven other employees of the Saturday morning ‘skeleton’ shift were seriously burned, one fatally. These deaths, together with the loss of the three occupants of the plane, brought the toll to fourteen.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Empire State Building Fire.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 39, No. 1, Oct 1945, p. 96.)
Newspapers
July 28: “New York, July 28 – (UP) – A B-25 bomber crashed and exploded against the north side of the Empire state building at about the 79th floor during a fog today [Saturday] and enveloped the upper part of the world’s tallest building in flames. An hour later the upper part of the building, housing many business offices, still was isolated and afire, and glass and debris were raining into the street below. A disaster of major proportions was feared. Two elevators were reported to have crashed from the 80th floor to the ground. Many persons in the street were cut by flying glass. The extent of casualties in the upper part of the building could not be determined.
“The pilot, lost in a low hanging fog, had attempted to land at LaGuardia Field on Long Island.. Failing, he apparently started for Newark field and crossing Manhattan struck the world’s tallest building.
“Flames leaped from the big building as the place exploded and debris showered on the street. Fire raced through six stories of the building, from the 80th to 86th floors. When the [unclear] fell to the roof of the Waldorf building on 33rd street, next to the Empire State, that structure caught fire.
“Glass littered the streets. Firemen and ambulance attendants rushed along sidewalks strewn with debris. Most of the city’s available fire fighting apparatus was at the scene.
“Army Lt. Aubrey B. Condit, a pilot, was on the 55th floor of the building when the crash came. He said the plane that struck the tower was a B-25 Billy Mitchell bomber, which carries a crew of three….
“At 10:30 the tower was still blazing, and firemen found a large tire from the plane on the Waldorf building roof….
“Later reports said three, instead of two elevators, crashed. Bystanders saw three mangled bodies taken from the wreckage of two elevators. The other was empty. A piece of the airplane motor was found inside it.
“At 10:50 a/,/ Fire Commissioner Patrick J. Walsh said five or six bodies were known to be trapped on the 78th and 79th floors.
“The plane struck the office of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, which is in charge of Monsignor O’Boyle. He said 20 persons were at work in the office and that four were dead.
The main foyer on the 34th street (uptown) side of the building was converted into an emergency statin and was crowded with internees.
“One of the first dead to be identified was Paul Deering, 40, a reporter for the Buffalo Courier-Express. Deering’s body was recovered from a window ledge on the 72nd floor, and police believed he died trying to escape from an upper floor.
“Roofs of several nearby buildings were set afire by the spray of blazing gasoline from the plane.
“Reports from La Guardia field said the B-25 that crashed into the Empire State was over New York on a flight from Bedford, Mass. ….
“Fog, at times closing in to 500 feet off the ground, blotted out the view of fire from the street at times.
“Despite the furor, the lower floors of the building were not evacuated and heads could be seen protruding from windows p to the 20th floor.
“Nanette Morrison a typist for Carl Byoir Associates, said the plane was so close to her window on the 36th floor that she could see two members of its crew. ‘I almost waved to them,’ Miss Morrison said. ‘Then I realized they were in trouble. The pilot was obviously trying to climb, but the plane didn’t go up except slowly, so slowly it almost drove you mad, watching his completely futile efforts. It couldn’t have been a minute later than I saw it hit the Empire State building…I heard the terrific explosion and saw from my window a flaming arrow shoot through the plane and ten eat up four stories of the building, starting at about the 80th floor.
“Fire Commissioner Patrick J. Walsh said at 11:15 a.m. that eight persons were known to be dead in the Empire State building disaster….” (United Press. “Plane Hits Empire State Building.” Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY. 7-28-1945, p. 1.)
Aug 1: “New York (AP) – The toll in the crash of a B-52 bomber into the Empire State Building last Saturday rose to 14 today with the death of Joseph C. Fountain, 47, a National Catholic Welfare Council employee, who received third degree burns trying to aid other workers in the office to safety. Fountain survived 96 hours, in which he received 25 blood plasma injections. More than 500 persons responded to a plea for donations for him….” (Associated Press. “Negligence Not To Be an Issue in Crash Probe.” Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, NY, 8-1-1945, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Negligence Not To Be an Issue in Crash Probe.” Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, NY, 8-1-1945, p. 1. Accessed 7-2-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/canandaigua-daily-messenger-aug-01-1945-p-1/
Baugher, Joseph F. 1941 USAAF Serial Numbers (41-24340 to 41-30847). Sep 12, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-7-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1941_4.html
Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.
Dunkirk Evening Observer (UP). NY. “Plane Hits Empire State Building.” 7-28-1945, p. 1. Accessed 7-2-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/dunkirk-evening-observer-jul-28-1945-p-1/
Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.
History.com. “This Day in Disaster History, Disaster, July 28, 1945. Plane Crashes into Empire State Building.” Accessed 12-08-2008 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=07/28&categoryId=disaster
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 3: August 1944 – December 1945). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.
National Fire Protection Association. “Empire State Building Fire.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 39, No. 1, Oct 1945, pp. 94-98.
National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. Accessed 2010 at: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1
National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)
Wikipedia. “Timeline of New York City Crimes and Disasters.” Accessed 11-23-2010 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_New_York_City_crimes_and_disasters
