1. 1945: United States Military plane crashes into Empire State building
Photo: source
Photo: wiki
On this date in 1945, a B-25 Mitchel Bomber smashes into the side of the Empire State Building. The plane was flying in from Massachusetts heading towards LaGuardia Airport in New York City when air traffic control gave instructions to head towards Newark instead. This meant they would have to fly directly across Manhattan. On this particular day, there was a heavy fog that made visibility poor at best. The bomber was warned that the tallest building in the city would not be visible. The fog was so bad the pilot disregarded warnings and flew at a dangerously low altitude for the area. It was reported that the plane suddenly came upon the Chrysler Building and made an evasive maneuver to avoid it, but in doing so sent it right into the side of the Empire State Building. Luckily it was a Saturday so there wasn’t nearly the amount of people there as there would be on a weekday. Even still there was a total of 14 casualties, including the three men on board the plane. Although there was a 18 foot by 20 foot hole in the side of the building, structurally it remained unscathed. However, damages were said to be around $1 million which equates to roughly $11 million in today’s economy.
