Where the 9/11 Terrorists May Have Gotten The Idea

In 1945, a US Army B-25 crashed into the Empire State Building...14 were killed, 26 injured and $1 million in damages was caused. I think it's pretty amazing that only 14 were killed..........

On the foggy morning of Saturday, July 28, 1945, Lt. Colonel William Smith was piloting a U.S. Army B-25 bomber through New York City. He was on his way to Newark Airport to pick up his commanding officer, but for some reason he showed up over LaGuardia Airport and asked for a weather report. Because of the poor visibility, the LaGuardia tower wanted to him to land, but Smith requested and received permission from the military to continue on to Newark. The last transmission from the LaGuardia tower to the plane was a foreboding warning: "From where I'm sitting, I can't see the top of the Empire State Building."1

Avoiding Skyscrapers
Confronted with dense fog, Smith dropped the bomber low to regain visibility, where he found himself in the middle of Manhattan, surrounded by skyscrapers.

At first, the bomber was headed directly for the New York Central Building but at the last minute, Smith was able to bank west and miss it. Unfortunately, this put him in line for another skyscraper. Smith managed to miss several skyscrapers until he was headed for the Empire State Building. At the last minute, Smith tried to get the bomber to climb and twist away, but it was too late. [p The Crash
At 9:49 a.m., the ten-ton, B-25 bomber smashed into the north side of the Empire State Building. The majority of the plane hit the 79th floor, creating a hole in the building eighteen feet wide and twenty feet high. The plane's high-octane fuel exploded, hurtling flames down the side of the building and inside through hallways and stairwells all the way down to the 75th floor.

source: history1900s.about.com...

I never knew anything about this ever happening until I just came across it while looking for another plane crash that hit another building sometime in the 70's I believe. I saw something about it on the history channel recently. But, maybe it was this crash into the Empire State Building they were talking about and I just got the dates wrong??

But I thought for sure there was another plane crash into a skyscraper sometime in the 1970's?? I just looked on a site that supposedly lists all air disasters and couldn't find anything. Anyone else familiar with any other planes that have crashed into large skyscrapers?? Thanks!!

In any event...this crash into the Empire State Building certainly could have given the scum bag terrorists of 9/11 some ideas............

Possibly, but I've always wondered if a Tom Clancy book, Debt of Honour (I think), where a deranged Japanese pilot flies a 747 into the Capitol Building where an inauguration is taking place, is where these people may have got the idea.

But really, who knows how these guys think. I couldn't imagine killing someone, but obviously they enjoy it.

Well Osama Bin Ladens father died in a plane crash... dont know if that has anything to do with planes being used.

www.planecrashinfo.com...

Its at the bottom of the page.