1945 Empire State Building Crash: WWII Impact on Federal Law

Published: October 8, 2024 at 2:46 PM EDT

Updated: October 30, 2025 at 5:21 PM EDT

COMMENT

Workers examining wreckage from the 1945 B-25 Empire State Building crash in building interior.

Only months after World War II ended in Europe, the unthinkable happened. Though WWII raged on between the United States and Imperial Japan, on July 28, 1945, an Empire State Building plane crash evoked fears of a deadly attack reaching America’s largest city. Although connected to the war, the good news was that when the Empire State Building was hit by a plane, it wasn’t an enemy attack. Unfortunately, the damage still proved deadly, costly, and worrisome for the city.

1945 B-25 Bomber Crash Into Empire State Building

A relatively short flight and bad weather conditions would combine for a now infamous Empire State Building plane crash. It would spread panic and cost lives.Though World War II was over in Europe, it wouldn’t technically end for a little over a month. To make matters worse, the Pacific Theatre still had plenty of fighting going on.Some believed the plane crash into the Empire State Building was an attack. In reality, it was just an unfortunate error by a pilot in the USAAF trying to help out his fellow service members.

Lt. Col. William F. Smith Makes a Deadly Error

Despite being an experienced pilot who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1942 and completed more than 40 missions fighting with the Eighth Air Force in Europe, Lt. Col. William F. Smith made a costly mistake.Lt. Smith’s flight from Bedford, Massachusetts, to LaGuardia Airport wasn’t supposed to be anything special, as he was bringing two service members home. However, due to dense fog in New York City, Smith was directed to land at Newark instead.For whatever reason, during the course change, Smith took a dangerous route through Midtown Manhattan. This was while flying at extremely low altitudes with poor visibility plaguing him the entire way.The B25 bomber plane crashed into Empire State Building on the north side, striking the structure head-on, at around 200 mph.As a result, the impact destroyed the 78th and 79th floors of the structure, causing an explosion and creating a 360-square-foot hole in what was at the time, the largest building in the world.Though the initial contact was terrible enough, the explosion caused a fire to spread throughout 11 floors, adding to the damage.

Chaos in Manhattan

Occupants of the Empire State Building were initially confused about the cause of the damage. Some were suspecting a bomb rather than an airplane crash. This includes some civilians who believed it could be related to WWII.However, the full extent of the tragedy only became clear to many when they were rescued or escaped to the street as there was chaos high above and down below as a result of the plane crash.Sadly, due to the flames, one man decided to take his own life by jumping. Many injured victims were burned beyond recognition.One remarkable tale, while one engine from the B25 bomber landed on a penthouse apartment, the other struck an elevator cable, trapping 20-year-old Betty Lou Oliver inside.Oliver survived a 75-floor plunge in the elevator, thanks to the emergency brake, despite sustaining severe injuries and experiencing extreme panic in the fall.

Things Could Have Been Worse

The tragedy involving the 1945 Empire State Building plane crash shouldn’t be dismissed. However, it could have been a lot worse.It was the first time a plane struck a skyscraper in New York City. To date, the incident is the only plane crash involving the building.Because it was the weekend, there were fewer workers inside and around the Empire State Building, keeping injuries and deaths lower than during working hours.Sadly, all three service members aboard the B-25, including Lt. Col. Smith, were killed. Smith’s body was found two days later.As for those inside the Empire State Building, 11 office workers died. At least 24 others were injured in the plane crash.At the time, the crash caused about $1 million in damage, which is equivalent to around $17.5 million in 2024.Despite the crash causing major damage and killing 14 people, the Empire State Building sustained no lasting structural damage. It reopened the next day.