BIRTH(+)FACT(᙮)DEATH(-)

39th year  -  N° 279                 Saturday, 5 October 2024         Antwerpen		
I Don't See Anything that I Want
BirthFactDeath (-)
Saturday 28th of July 1945

79 years ago She Fell 75 Stories



Lieutenant-colonel and pilot William Franklin Smith crashes the Old John Feather Merchant US B-25 Mitchell bomber into 78th and 80th floors at the age of 27 in Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States.


Fourteen people were killed: Smith, Staff Sergeant Christopher Domitrovich and Navy Aviation Machinist's Mate Albert Perna and eleven people in the building. Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver was injured when the cables supporting her elevator sheared and the elevator fell 75 stories, ending up in the basement. Oliver survived the fall and rescuers found her amongst the rubble. This still stands as the Guinness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall.