Radio Diaries: the HISTORY PROJECT

THE PLANE THAT FLEW INTO THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
On the morning of July 28, 1945 a B-25 bomber left Massachusetts and headed to New York City on a routine ferry mission. At the controls of the plane was Captain William F. Smith. Lost in the fog over Manhattan, Smith found himself flying among skyscapers. A dictation machine in a nearby office happened to capture the sound of the plane as it flew by and hit the Empire State Building at the 79th floor. The pilot and his two passengers were killed, along with eleven workers in the offices of the Catholic War Relief Services. Debris from the plane severed the cables of an elevator, which fell 79 stories with a young woman inside. She survived. The crash prompted new legislation that — for the first time — gave citizens the right to sue the federal government. Producers Joe Richman and Samara Freemark of Radio Diaries bring us an audio history of the day a plane flew into the Empire State Building. Bios: Arthur Weingarten wrote the book "The Sky is Falling", an account of the B-25 crash at the Empire State Building in 1945. Gloria Pall was working for the USO on the 56th floor of the Empire State Building when the plane hit the building. glopall@roadrunner.com Therese Willig worked for Catholic War Relief Services on the 79th floor of the Empire State Building at the time of the crash. Sharon Cizauskas' father was Paul Dearing. He was killed in the crash at the Empire State Building. Special Thanks Thank you to Piano Productions. They gave us our outro music. Without them our story wouldn't have an ending. Listen to the broadcast on NPR.org
	Hole on the 79th floor of the Empire State Building, caused by the crash of the B-25 into the building.

	Relief workers tend to survivors of the crash at the Empire State Building.

	The Empire State Building after the B-25 crash, seen from above the point of impact. Credit: Ernie Sisto, The New York Times.

	Gloria Pall, actress and pin-up girl, was working for the USO on the 56th floor of the Empire State Building when the plane hit the building. glopall@roadrunner.com