9. Memorial to the 1960 Park Slope Plane Crash

On December 16, 1960, Trans World Airlines Flight 266 and United Airlines Flight 826 collided over Staten Island, causing the TWA flight to crash there, while the United Airlines plane unsuccessfully attempted to reach LaGuardia Airport and instead crashed in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Park Slope plane crash set fire to 10 brownstones at the intersection of Sterling Place and Seventh Avenue, along with three other stores, and a church (ironically named the Pillar of Fire Church).

84 people on the flight were killed, along with six people on the ground. The TWA crash on Staten Island killed 44 passengers and crew members. In an effort to figure out why the crash occurred, this investigation was the first to use a plane’s black box data recorder. Since DNA identification was not yet possible, the remains at the Park Slope crash were placed into three caskets labeled “Fragmentary Human Remains” and buried in unmark grave lot number 38325, purchased by United Airlines.

On December 16, 2010, on the 50th anniversary of this gruesome event, Green-Wood Cemetery dedicated a proper memorial for the victims who perished.

For a more detailed look into the crash, check out Remnants of a 1960 Park Slope Plane Crash Hidden in Plain Site in Brooklyn.