Park Slope Plane Crash

One of the deadliest American air disasters is nearly forgotten in Brooklyn

Category Disaster Areas

Image of Park Slope Plane Crash located in Brooklyn, New York, US | Tail section

Tail section

Source
Image of Park Slope Plane Crash located in Brooklyn, New York, US | Tail section Image of Park Slope Plane Crash located in Brooklyn, New York, US | Front page of the New York Times. Image of Park Slope Plane Crash located in Brooklyn, New York, US | Seventh Avenue and Sterling Place
Disaster Areas http://atlasobscura.com/category/intriguing-environs/disaster-areas

No memorial at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Sterling Place in Park Slope, Brooklyn, marks the site of the one of the worst aviation disasters in American history.

On December 16, 1960, a United Airlines Flight 826 landing from Chicago and TWA Flight 266 coming from Ohio collided in mid-air. The TWA Lockheed Super Constellation plummeted onto Staten Island and the United Douglas DC-8 plane crashed into the brownstones of Park Slope.

All of the TWA passengers were killed on impact, but no pedestrians were harmed on the ground in Staten Island. However, debris from the United plane and sections of fuselage pummeled the buildings and sidewalks in Brooklyn, one piece falling on the McCaddin Funeral Home, causing embalmed corpses to fly into the air and onto the street. The Pillar of Fire Church was engulfed in flames and the left wing of the plane slashed through the apartment building next door. In the middle of the intersection, the entire tail section fell upright. Debris included numerous wrapped Christmas presents thrown from the plane, mingled with bricks ripped from the buildings.

There was one United flight survivor: eleven-year-old Steven Baltz. Although he was taken breathing to New York Methodist Hospital, he died 26 hours later from burns and broken bones. The Phillips Chapel at the hospital has a memorial plaque including the five nickels and four dimes Baltz had in his pockets.

128 passengers and six people on the ground were killed in the disaster. A new condominium building stands where the plane crashed and there are small reminders of the damage at the quiet Park Slope intersection. The bricks on top of 126 Sterling are different from the rest of the building and repairs are visible on the upper floors of many buildings on Seventh Avenue.

See an error? Know more? Edit this place.

Users who like this place: Josef_K Irene

Users who have been to this place: Josh Hawkeyecory A Facebook user Josef_K A Facebook user Irene

  • Address Seventh Avenue and Sterling Place, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Map/Directions

Go to Google Maps

Post a Comment

to comment. Use your Facebook account to login instantly. Anonymous comments will be held in moderation.

Enter the Captcha code below to confirm you're human:
Captcha Image