Plane crashes
into Empire State Building
Cigarette break saves
life
Saturday,
July 28, 1945
On a
foggy morning Lt.
Colonel William Smith is flying a U.S. Army B-25 bomber
through New York City. He's on his way to Newark
Airport, but gets lost. He radios La Guardia airport and
asks for a weather report. Because of the poor
visibility they advise him to land immediately.
'I think I can make it to Newark,' he says. "But the fog is
bad. From where I'm sitting, I can't see the top of the
Empire State Building. I'll fly lower to get a better
view.'
It's a fatal mistake. As Colonel Smith descends he sees the
skyscrapers of Manhattan. He swerves to miss them but he is
now heading for the Empire State Building. Again he tries
to get the bomber to climb and twist away.
But it's too late
Lucky Break
At 9.48 an elevator
operator is working on the 75th floor of the Empire
State Building 1945. It's been a busy
morning and he needs a
cigarette. He steps out of his
elevator for a smoke.
Seconds later Colonel Smith's plane crashed into the 79th
floor.
The impact cut the cables of the empty elevator. The
operator watched as it crashed to the ground. Inside were
two women
Miraculously, the women survived. 14 people died in the
crash and the fire that followed.