Plane Crash At 40 Wall Street (1946)

United News Newsreel

On the evening of May 20, 1946, a United States Army Air Forces C-45 Beechcraft airplane crashed into the north side of the building. The twin-engined plane was heading for Newark Airport on a flight originating at Lake Charles Army Air Field in Louisiana. It struck the 58th floor of the building at approximately 8:10 PM, creating a 20 by 10-foot (3.0 m) hole in the masonry, and killing all five aboard the plane, including a WAC officer. Fog and low visibility were identified as the main causes of the crash. At the time of the accident, LaGuardia Field reported a heavy fog that reduced the ceiling to 500 feet (150 m), obscuring the view of the ground for the pilot at the building’s 58th story level. Upon impact, several parts of the aircraft, along with pieces of brick and mortar from the building, fell into the street below. However, there were no reported injuries of any of the estimated 2,000 workers in the building, nor anyone on the street.

This crash at 40 Wall Street was only the second of its kind in New York City’s history, the first being when an Army B-25 bomber struck the 78th floor of the Empire State Building in July of the year before. The cause of that crash was also fog and poor visibility.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40_Wall_Street