Bomber crashes into Empire State Building Round Up of Architectural Accidents Vintage NYC Photography Untapped Cities Sabrina Romano
Bomber Crashed into Empire State Building, July 28, 1945. Bomber Crashed into Empire State Building, July 28, 1945. Photo in public domain from Wikimedia Commons

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. From technological accidents to natural disasters, with tragedy mixed in, here we have some of the notable “architectural” accidents throughout history. As investigators search for answers on the Sunday fire that destroyed the interior of the Serbian Orthodox Church of St Salva, formerly Trinity Chapel, we present accidents lost to time that shocked the city’s residents.

One note: though there have certainly been more deadly incidents, like the General Slocum shipwreck or 9/11, we have stuck here to non-deliberate accidents and those of interesting architectural nature.

1. Empire State Building Plane Crash, 1945

On a foggy morning in July 1945, an experienced and decorated World War II pilot was flying a B-25 Mitchell Bomber from the Army base in Bedford, Massachusetts to Newark, New Jersey on a mission to return a few servicemen home. Approaching the airport, pilot William Franklin Smith Jr. prepared for landing despite warnings of low visibility. He was able to get through most of the Manhattan skyline, but made a wrong turn and hit the 79th floor of the Empire State Building.

The crash created a hole on the side of the skyscraper 18 feet wide and 20 feet high. The fuel tank exploded, hurling flames through the stairs and the hallways down to the 75th floor, killing 14 and injuring 26. All three on the plane were killed along with 11 people in the Empire State Building, mostly women from the National Catholic Welfare Conference. The building was repaired at a cost of $1 million.

It was a sad end for Smith Jr., who during World War II had been awarded the “Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Croix de Guerre as a member of the 457th Bomb Group,” Time reports.