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50 years ago today
- Thread starter guitarman314
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How time passes. I still lived in NY at that time, and buffed that job. It was a real mess in that part of Park Slope. Ward LaFrance pumpers parked all over the place. And the snow and ice made things even worse. Even today I still think about the many people who lost their lives in that disaster.
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Kind of chilling to read that article and relive this event particularly about the young boy! I know my brother kfd274 remembers it well as he was a Loughlin Senior at the time! I was still in grammar school.
Sad but true "Disaster is the catalyst for improvement". Remember the Mianus Bridge collapse on I-95 in Connecticut and the NYS Thruway bridge in Scoharie. Now we have mandated bridge inspections every 2 years! There are many more examples but I won't bore you!!
We also had the Brooklyn Navy yard disaster in the same time frame
Sad but true "Disaster is the catalyst for improvement". Remember the Mianus Bridge collapse on I-95 in Connecticut and the NYS Thruway bridge in Scoharie. Now we have mandated bridge inspections every 2 years! There are many more examples but I won't bore you!!
We also had the Brooklyn Navy yard disaster in the same time frame
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It was 3 days later, on Dec 19, 1960. From www.navysite.de:
The construction of the carrier was nearly 90% completed and in the hangar bay there was a tank with 502 gallons of fuel inside. A forklift collided with that tank and the fuel ran out and flew into a lower deck where some workers were welding. A fire started and the flames quickly grew up because of all the wooden materials stored in the hangar bay and on the flight deck. Moments later a huge flame and a dark cloud of smoke could be seen above the carrier.
An example for the density of the smoke was that a standard breathing apparatus can be used for approx. 45 minutes, but aboard the CONSTELLATION they could only be used for 20 minutes. Almost the whole hangar bay was burning. The efforts to extinguish the fire using the existing fire-fighting equipment were not successful and so the Brooklyn fire department was called for assistence.
The fire was mainly extinguished with water and 15.000 tons of this water got into the carrier.
At the time of the accident, a total of 4200 people worked aboard the carrier and so the fire deptartment had not only to extinguish the fire but also to rescue the people.
All in all it took twelve hours to extinguish the fire. 50 people were killed and hundreds were injured and the ship was heavily damaged.
The carrier was scheduled to be commissioned in early 1961 but because of the fire and the resulting damage, the commissioning ceremony had to be postponed to October 27, 1961.
By the way, during one year in the Naval Shipyard, there were 42 fires aboard USS CONSTELLATION.
All 4 FDNY rescue companies operated at this fire, and if memory serves me, several more volley rescue companies from Nassau County did, too. And for EFD/KFD274: I was a sophomore at St Francis College (then on Butler St) when both occurred.
The construction of the carrier was nearly 90% completed and in the hangar bay there was a tank with 502 gallons of fuel inside. A forklift collided with that tank and the fuel ran out and flew into a lower deck where some workers were welding. A fire started and the flames quickly grew up because of all the wooden materials stored in the hangar bay and on the flight deck. Moments later a huge flame and a dark cloud of smoke could be seen above the carrier.
An example for the density of the smoke was that a standard breathing apparatus can be used for approx. 45 minutes, but aboard the CONSTELLATION they could only be used for 20 minutes. Almost the whole hangar bay was burning. The efforts to extinguish the fire using the existing fire-fighting equipment were not successful and so the Brooklyn fire department was called for assistence.
The fire was mainly extinguished with water and 15.000 tons of this water got into the carrier.
At the time of the accident, a total of 4200 people worked aboard the carrier and so the fire deptartment had not only to extinguish the fire but also to rescue the people.
All in all it took twelve hours to extinguish the fire. 50 people were killed and hundreds were injured and the ship was heavily damaged.
The carrier was scheduled to be commissioned in early 1961 but because of the fire and the resulting damage, the commissioning ceremony had to be postponed to October 27, 1961.
By the way, during one year in the Naval Shipyard, there were 42 fires aboard USS CONSTELLATION.
All 4 FDNY rescue companies operated at this fire, and if memory serves me, several more volley rescue companies from Nassau County did, too. And for EFD/KFD274: I was a sophomore at St Francis College (then on Butler St) when both occurred.
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efd274 is correct. I was Senior at Loughlin HS. We were told of the crash, and could hear fire engines responding past the school on Cleremont and Greene. After school, I got on a bus and went to the scene. Cold, difficult and sad to see the destruction and know the lives lost. Fire apparatus everywhere. Seeing the tail section of the aircraft in the middle of the street was sobering. It happend within a block of St Augustine Elementary School and High School. Thank God no one was injured. I do think part of the aircraft hit a church. "Pillar of Fire" Church if I remember correctly.
And yes the fire at the Navy Yard. Our school was only a couple of miles away. Fire trucks back and forth on Vanderbilt Avenue all day.
I think Robert Wagner was Mayor and Edward Cavanaugh the Fire Commissioner.
May those who lost their lives Rest in Peace. Hats off to the wonderful work of the members of the FDNY.
And yes the fire at the Navy Yard. Our school was only a couple of miles away. Fire trucks back and forth on Vanderbilt Avenue all day.
I think Robert Wagner was Mayor and Edward Cavanaugh the Fire Commissioner.
May those who lost their lives Rest in Peace. Hats off to the wonderful work of the members of the FDNY.
One of the planes went down on SI. The aircraft landed at Miller Field off New Dorp Lane. Engine 165 and Ladder 85 were first due. They were newly formed companies. Miller Field was still an active Army airfield. Permission is normally requested when entering a military base. When E 165 arrived and saw the downed aircraft, the Lieutenant had the engine (a Mack C) crash through the fence and immediately go to work. The Boro of Richmond, as it was called then, had a 2nd alarm because there were no buildings involved.
http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/midair_airliner_crash_over_sta.html
PD Account:
This accident occurred during the construction of the Verrazano Bridge. With the disaster in two Patrol Borough Commands, the NYPD ESU would need to assist at both locations. The response time factor was obvious. The NYPD ESU units as well as the FDNY Rescue companies such as Rescue 2 would be able to respond quickly to the scene. However, on Staten Island, there would be no such quick response. To understand the ?spirit of the times? let me recall a few facts about working on Staten Island.
The few cops who were available that day included cops from the 122nd Precinct . The long awaited new stationhouse for the 122nd Precinct was under construction a short distance away from Miller Field on Hylan Boulevard. Local cops called the 122 Precinct, the ?New Dorp Precinct?. For now, the few cops assigned to the New Dorp Precinct were housed in an old condemned wooden schoolhouse located on Eighth Street.
I would venture to guess that on a typical day tour during 1960, there would be fewer than two patrol cars on duty in the New Dorp Precinct covering an area the size of Manhattan. The two other patrol precincts on Staten Island would not have much more coverage. The only NYPD Emergency Service truck was quartered in the 120th Precinct in St. George. The local Communications Unit worked out of the 2nd floor of the 120th Precinct Stationhouse in the ?St. George Precinct?.
On the Morning of December 16, 1960, the few patrol cars in the New Dorp Precinct and the 120th Precinct ESU Truck would be faced with death and destruction on a massive scale. The cops who first responded to the scene must have been aghast at what confronted them.
For the patrol cops who were the first responders on that morning so long ago, the scene that unfolded before their eyes would stay with them for the rest of their lives. The wreckage of the aircraft was scattered all over Miller Field. Bodies and parts of bodies were everywhere. The blood on the snow covered field added to the gruesomeness of the task at hand. One of the first cops to respond to the scene was Patrolman Peter Paul, 122nd Precinct, and his brother, Patrolman Gerard Paul, Emergency Service NYPD, who is now deceased. Both cops were off-duty at the time and were Christmas shopping on New Dorp Lane. They actually witnessed the doomed aircraft as it broke apart in mid-air and crashed in Miller Field. Miller Field was actually still in operation as a US Army air field for small aircraft at the time of the accident. Two airplane hangers are still in existence that serve the Gateway Recreation Area today.
The airfield was fenced off in those days, so the Paul brothers got a ladder and climbed over the fence. When I interviewed Patrolman Paul for this article, he remembered being horrified by the sight of body parts and debris scattered all over the field. The wreckage of the fuselage lay at one end of the field and the tail section a distance away. As he and his brother Gerard ran to the fuselage section, the thick black smoke kept them from entering the wreckage. They ran to the tail section that didn?t seem to be afire and as they approached it, a US Coast Guard helicopter hovered over them and dropped a package containing fire extinguishers and cutting tools.
Paul saw the passengers still attached with their seatbelts in the tail section. Some of them were barely alive and moaning could be heard coming from some of the victims. They were able to cut four of them out of their seats and placed them a distance from the aircraft. The fifth victim was removed with his seat attached as it had been broken loose in the crash. Paul recalled hearing that victim moaning when he took him out. None of the victims survived. A year after the accident, Paul remembered being interviewed about the accident and learning that the fifth victim was, in fact, a Roman Catholic Priest.
For what seemed an eternity, Patrolman Paul and his brother were the only few who responded to the scene. It must be noted that in 1960, cops had no portable radios to call for assistance. There were no cell phones either. For cops who respond daily to scenes of death and destruction, it is a lonely time between first arrival on the scene and when help arrives. As I have written before, patrol duty is the most difficult task in policing. Those cops in those radio cars are the first responders who must deal with every conceivable problem without the benefit of time and advice of supervisory officers. They must make life and death decisions in real time. Many a cop learns early in his or her career that ?patrol? is a heavy duty job. Not everyone can hack it on patrol, but that is where the action is in police work. But, to the men and women on patrol duty, the Emergency Service cops are like the US Cavalry riding to the rescue.
Patrolman Paul remembered meeting Patrolman Carl Kuhn, his fellow cop on the scene of the disaster. Patrolman Kuhn, 122nd Precinct, was on duty performing a day tour. However, he had been assigned to the Christmas Detail patrolling Tappen Park in the Stapleton section of the 120th Precinct when a patrol car picked him up and transported him back to Miller Field. Patrolman Kuhn remembers vividly the terrible scene of destruction. He was immediately assigned the grisly task of placing UF95 tags on human body parts and marking them for identification. Such duty is similar to graves registration duty in the military. When I interviewed Carl for this article, he recalled that he and other cops transported the body parts to the morgue at Seaview Hospital. He told me that the task of piecing together the bodies of the victims was a duty that would haunt him for many years. Officer Kuhn spent what seemed like many hours performing that sad task. I worked with Officer Kuhn in later years when he was a Detective. I was always impressed with his professionalism. During his last year on the NYPD, he was assigned to a gruesome homicide that involved the suspect cutting up his father?s body and throwing various parts into the sewer. I remember wishing Carl good luck in his retirement. The citizens of NYC should know what these men did during their service careers with the NYPD. For his actions that day, Patrolman Paul received Department Recognition. He was awarded a Commendation Medal for his service.
http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/midair_airliner_crash_over_sta.html
PD Account:
This accident occurred during the construction of the Verrazano Bridge. With the disaster in two Patrol Borough Commands, the NYPD ESU would need to assist at both locations. The response time factor was obvious. The NYPD ESU units as well as the FDNY Rescue companies such as Rescue 2 would be able to respond quickly to the scene. However, on Staten Island, there would be no such quick response. To understand the ?spirit of the times? let me recall a few facts about working on Staten Island.
The few cops who were available that day included cops from the 122nd Precinct . The long awaited new stationhouse for the 122nd Precinct was under construction a short distance away from Miller Field on Hylan Boulevard. Local cops called the 122 Precinct, the ?New Dorp Precinct?. For now, the few cops assigned to the New Dorp Precinct were housed in an old condemned wooden schoolhouse located on Eighth Street.
I would venture to guess that on a typical day tour during 1960, there would be fewer than two patrol cars on duty in the New Dorp Precinct covering an area the size of Manhattan. The two other patrol precincts on Staten Island would not have much more coverage. The only NYPD Emergency Service truck was quartered in the 120th Precinct in St. George. The local Communications Unit worked out of the 2nd floor of the 120th Precinct Stationhouse in the ?St. George Precinct?.
On the Morning of December 16, 1960, the few patrol cars in the New Dorp Precinct and the 120th Precinct ESU Truck would be faced with death and destruction on a massive scale. The cops who first responded to the scene must have been aghast at what confronted them.
For the patrol cops who were the first responders on that morning so long ago, the scene that unfolded before their eyes would stay with them for the rest of their lives. The wreckage of the aircraft was scattered all over Miller Field. Bodies and parts of bodies were everywhere. The blood on the snow covered field added to the gruesomeness of the task at hand. One of the first cops to respond to the scene was Patrolman Peter Paul, 122nd Precinct, and his brother, Patrolman Gerard Paul, Emergency Service NYPD, who is now deceased. Both cops were off-duty at the time and were Christmas shopping on New Dorp Lane. They actually witnessed the doomed aircraft as it broke apart in mid-air and crashed in Miller Field. Miller Field was actually still in operation as a US Army air field for small aircraft at the time of the accident. Two airplane hangers are still in existence that serve the Gateway Recreation Area today.
The airfield was fenced off in those days, so the Paul brothers got a ladder and climbed over the fence. When I interviewed Patrolman Paul for this article, he remembered being horrified by the sight of body parts and debris scattered all over the field. The wreckage of the fuselage lay at one end of the field and the tail section a distance away. As he and his brother Gerard ran to the fuselage section, the thick black smoke kept them from entering the wreckage. They ran to the tail section that didn?t seem to be afire and as they approached it, a US Coast Guard helicopter hovered over them and dropped a package containing fire extinguishers and cutting tools.
Paul saw the passengers still attached with their seatbelts in the tail section. Some of them were barely alive and moaning could be heard coming from some of the victims. They were able to cut four of them out of their seats and placed them a distance from the aircraft. The fifth victim was removed with his seat attached as it had been broken loose in the crash. Paul recalled hearing that victim moaning when he took him out. None of the victims survived. A year after the accident, Paul remembered being interviewed about the accident and learning that the fifth victim was, in fact, a Roman Catholic Priest.
For what seemed an eternity, Patrolman Paul and his brother were the only few who responded to the scene. It must be noted that in 1960, cops had no portable radios to call for assistance. There were no cell phones either. For cops who respond daily to scenes of death and destruction, it is a lonely time between first arrival on the scene and when help arrives. As I have written before, patrol duty is the most difficult task in policing. Those cops in those radio cars are the first responders who must deal with every conceivable problem without the benefit of time and advice of supervisory officers. They must make life and death decisions in real time. Many a cop learns early in his or her career that ?patrol? is a heavy duty job. Not everyone can hack it on patrol, but that is where the action is in police work. But, to the men and women on patrol duty, the Emergency Service cops are like the US Cavalry riding to the rescue.
Patrolman Paul remembered meeting Patrolman Carl Kuhn, his fellow cop on the scene of the disaster. Patrolman Kuhn, 122nd Precinct, was on duty performing a day tour. However, he had been assigned to the Christmas Detail patrolling Tappen Park in the Stapleton section of the 120th Precinct when a patrol car picked him up and transported him back to Miller Field. Patrolman Kuhn remembers vividly the terrible scene of destruction. He was immediately assigned the grisly task of placing UF95 tags on human body parts and marking them for identification. Such duty is similar to graves registration duty in the military. When I interviewed Carl for this article, he recalled that he and other cops transported the body parts to the morgue at Seaview Hospital. He told me that the task of piecing together the bodies of the victims was a duty that would haunt him for many years. Officer Kuhn spent what seemed like many hours performing that sad task. I worked with Officer Kuhn in later years when he was a Detective. I was always impressed with his professionalism. During his last year on the NYPD, he was assigned to a gruesome homicide that involved the suspect cutting up his father?s body and throwing various parts into the sewer. I remember wishing Carl good luck in his retirement. The citizens of NYC should know what these men did during their service careers with the NYPD. For his actions that day, Patrolman Paul received Department Recognition. He was awarded a Commendation Medal for his service.
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This story was written up on today's edition of the Chicago Sun Times.The lone survivor was from a United flight out of Chicago. His name was Stephen Baltz from Wilmette, a suburb north of Chicago. He died of his injuries the next day. When Stephen's father left the hospital after learning of his son's death he put a handful of dimes and nickels into a donation box. These coins are affixed to a plaque which is now NY Methodonist Hospital. It reads "Our tibute to a brave little boy" Members of this site, when you come home tonight or tomorrow morning give your kids a hug!! And my dogs (Bear and Austin) say the same thing!
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Rundown:
Firefighter from E159 account:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/park-slope-plane-crash-the-constellation-comes-down/
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/park-slope-plane-crash-the-constellation-comes-down/
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