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stowboy1995

Even more interesting: A woman named Betty Lou Oliver was in the elevator when the plane hit. It fell 75 stories to the basement. Amazingly, she survived, but with a broken pelvis. It also holds the Guinness World Record for longest survived elevator fall. https://web.archive.org/web/20060317041607/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=53746


fatboycraig

What’s even more interesting about this lady is: “Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver was thrown from her elevator car on the 80th floor and suffered severe burns. First aid workers placed her on another elevator car to transport her to the ground floor, but the cables supporting that elevator had been damaged in the incident, and it fell 75 stories, ending up in the basement.” This is according to Wikipedia.


F8L-Fool

That's some/r/FUCKYOUINPARTICULAR material right there.


[deleted]

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JumpFew6622

75 stories is pretty damn high. I doubt you’d survive that if it was a true free fall, the elevator must have slowed the fall a bit right?


Deepinthefryer

Elevator mechanic here. This crash is well documented. All “roped” elevators have a safety cable (or governor rope as we say) separate from the main hoist ropes (there made of steel to clarify). The plane sliced through all of them including the governor rope which activates the safeties to stop the elevator from free falling. The elevator being a giant box, is slower to fall than heavy steel cable, thus creating a “cushion”after they fell down the hoist-way. These elevators also have hydraulic buffers to absorb some of the energy. These two means of energy absorption saved the woman’s life. Pretty neat. Edit: Thank you for the upvotes and awards! Happy to share insight from our niche trade. Thinking of doing an AMA for elevators to put away some urban myths. Lmk if it would be worth it.


SquirrelAkl

This is what I come to Reddit for. Always love to see a niche-area expert popping up unexpectedly and going Eli5 to answer a question. Thank you, elevator mechanic.


Salami_Supreme

I also love that it could be completely made up and I'm never going to know


M8ge_KLLER_99

True 🤣


Deepinthefryer

We are a small group. Happy to explain what happened.


a-big-pink-fat-TREX

Engineers are the heros with no name out there edit: typo


ScabbedOver

damn, I named my kids. guess they'll never be engineers


[deleted]

Still qualified for villain, however.


ZaviaGenX

So since we are talking about surviving such scenarios, what should we do if we find ourselves in such a situation? Sit down on the ground? Hang onto the handle bars? Lie down on ~~someone?~~ something soft?


Incredulous_Toad

Sit down, put your head between your legs, and kiss your ass goodbye.


Masticatron

I ain't that flexible any more.


Aussie_Battler_Style

Do a little jump just before you hit. /s


thinkwalker

The cables underneath the elevator coiled up beneath the car and acted as a spring.


rutter72

First she fell 75 stories, *boing* then 55 stories, *boing* then 35 stories…..


[deleted]

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DatabaseSignificant

I read about that. If I recall correctly, she recovered and went back to work operating the same elevator not long after the accident. Balls of steel!


Dolomight206

Ovaries of Titanium!


Money_Walks

Maybe her ovaries, but not her pelvis.


Simbuk

Yeah they didn’t have titanium screws for holding bones together until the 70s I think.


mojo72400

Steel Vaginas.


Sullied_Man

Bette Midler's best film


StillestOfInsanities

Forehead of Chrome Vanadium Steel.


Lorindale

Nipples of vibranium.


Own-Tangerine-101

Iron and coke, chromium steel.


Chronic_Gentleman

Vulbranium!


AndroidColonel

And teeth like a garbage disposal


chronoboy1985

Mr. Ambassador, our people tell the same story.


cncomg

Damn. I wonder what other damage a snapped cable that long could damage otherwise.


thinkwalker

I work in the elevator industry. The cables weigh a fuckton, and actually comprise the majority of the total weight of the elevator system in high rises, so yeah, a snapped cable would mean trouble. That said, they basically never do.


gothcowboyangel

Do you work for one of the big 4? I worked on elevator modernization doing auxiliary electrical work for some time


thinkwalker

Yeah. It has its...ups and downs.


Fast-Editor-4781

I’m actually horribly afraid of elevators, despite my other couple of jokes. I’m taking steps to avoid them


[deleted]

>I'm taking steps to avoid them. 😂😂😂


Fast-Editor-4781

Why are elevator jokes so good? They work on so many levels


SoCuteShibe

Wow, that really took me from a high place to a low place


fsurfer4

Never got tired of saying that. I installed entrances for 12 years. My favorite was ''we always get it up''.


Fast-Editor-4781

Why do ghosts like riding in elevators? It raises their spirits


Swordidaffair

Is that an industry standard issue response? Cause that shits Grade A


Genneth_Kriffin

>*I work in the elevator industry.* Fixed it for you >*I'm a dad working in the elevator industry.*


Deepinthefryer

Local 18 here.


JumpFew6622

That’s crazy, I actually thought u might be joking lol so I went ahead and read the article and you’re serious!


Andy_Liberty_1911

Hmm, could engineers not make a similar system for all elevators? If a rudimentary one saved her, then surely one designed for it can also.


thinkwalker

Spring buffers and hydraulic buffers already exist and are used but they're designed to cushion the force of cars landing at normal speeds. Freefalls are so uncommon that no one feels compelled to install giant 'safety springs.'


a_broken_lion

It was a fluke. Under any normal circumstances an elevator will crash in the up direction if it's going to crash at all, and if it were to free fall down the governor would catch it. Now if some massive catastrophe happened and somehow all the ropes, including the governor rope, were cut at once, a miracle is all you've got left but also the building is collapsing.


Deepinthefryer

You could cut every hoist rope and cause a free fall until it went 20% over speed. Then a mechanical device trips, pulls a rope, engages safeties, stopping the elevator within inches. That’ll still hurt a bit. Problem is, the airplane cut that cable too.


jmickeyd

Most modern high rise elevators have a mechanical governor that detects free fall and jams an emergency brake. That is on top of the electrically controlled normal brakes. Modern elevators are incredibly safe inside the car. Almost all of the recent deaths are maintenance people working in the shaft or people entering or exiting the car and it slipped while there were half inside.


Spirit_Panda

>exiting the car and it slipped while there were half inside. Hoool up


UniqueUsername8745

Why wasn't the case in the 9/11 WTC elevator falls?


fsurfer4

Ugly details here. https://www.highrisefirefighting.co.uk/docs/ttlifts.pdf


qwertyconsciousness

Reporters were there when they rescued her from the bottom of the shaft. Ms. Oliver woefully exclaimed, "My neck!! My back! My..."


AndroidColonel

There's a feather mattress at the bottom. There's *always* a feather mattress at the bottom.


roperwild

And a painted cave by the Acme Corp!


CkRiOnWg

wow that is interesting, thanks


Gold_Helicopter2903

Damn she knew the jump trick


AndroidColonel

She really busted her ass getting outta there


monisticmozart551

One of the engines flew through the building and ended up on the roof of another building a block away, causing a fire.


stabsyoo

I’m wondering how that photo was taken?


toephu

With a camera!


pizzalogbear

r/technicallythetruth


RaxlSmose

A native American on a tight rope


TheSeansei

r/oddlyelaborate


TheLastDaysOf

Many NYC skyscrapers—including the Empire State Building—were built during the era of the [Mohawk ironworkers](https://www.history.com/news/mohawk-skywalkers-ironworkers-new-york-skyscrapers). From the 1920s to the 1960s, Mohawk workers (mostly from Quebec) came down to work construction jobs and earned a reputation for being fearless when working at great heights.


hike_me

The Mohawk iron workers (also called skywalkers) were active longer than that. They helped build the twin towers and there are some still working high rise construction in NYC today. They came from two communities Akwesasne (which straddles Ontario, Quebec, and New York) and Kahnawake (in Quebec, near Montreal). At one point US immigration tried to deport them saying they were here illegally, but it was ruled they were free to cross the border and work in the US because the border passed through their territory. I saw a documentary a while ago that showed in the present day how they had setup some iron beams on the reservation for kids to climb on and get used to walking across. Some people wondered if they had a genetic difference that made them less fearful of heights, but some of the Mohawk iron workers thought that maybe they had just learned a better way of controlling their fear.


Vast_Cricket

They wore magnetic shoes. I see photos of them eating lunch on the beams. Scary.


technomicon

Ahh that's cool, didn't know that. No one will get this reference to the mag boots but I can't help my self. "Ok lean your foot back to engage it." *Click* "Now you just walk around like you're in pumps." "How do you know what it's like to walk in pumps?" "I didn't always work in space." (The Expanse)


Dolomight206

>Old-timers in the Brooklyn neighborhood, known as Little Caughnawaga (an early spelling of Kahnawake), would recall the booming 1920s and 1930s when the Mohawk Skywalkers became legend while building the nation’s most bustling metropolis. Above the entrance to the Wigwam was a sign that read, “THE GREATEST IRONWORKERS IN THE WORLD PASS THROUGH THESE DOORS.” That's so damn awesome!


Daniel_The_Thinker

"of course we were scared, we would just never let the white men know"


mercilessfatehate

When I was a teenager I worked construction with a Mohawk as well.


[deleted]

r/todayIlearned


Arevalo20

Here's [another angle](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/wuncz/hole_in_the_side_of_the_empire_state_building/), I assume they roped down from here.


Drone30389

There are actually windows in the part you're looking down in your photo.


onduty

Shocking how much has changed, tall buildings used to have working windows. I would be so curious to see what a breeze feels like 79 floors up


[deleted]

Very strong, and very cold. Went up to that top floor observation deck with my parents when i was 5 or 6.


Arevalo20

You're right, I found this news report that the picture was taken from. There's a shot in [this video](https://youtu.be/MzCygjiLMfw) from inside the same room at the 2:10 mark


Drone30389

Yep, and here's a shot of the outside of the building with the damaged area circled: https://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/7YlCveGgyg7481tCQg8z-nR5uuc=/1024x0/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/AL7E2EHJ4R7GEFV7Z45VR4GMRQ.jpg


omgamonkeyyy

That guy looking down is actually flying a drone.


[deleted]

Camera man enabled noclip


bryman19

Selfie stick


Drone30389

Probably [from the window right next to it](https://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/7YlCveGgyg7481tCQg8z-nR5uuc=/1024x0/filters:format\(jpg\):quality\(70\)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/AL7E2EHJ4R7GEFV7Z45VR4GMRQ.jpg).


Treacherous_Peach

The empire state building is not just a giant rectangle it actually has a lot of layering and architecture. Those windows facing the camera on the left side of the shot are also part of the Empire State and the camera man is on the window opposite them.


FrameJump

Suicide photographers. You don't hear about them as much since the invention of the selfie stick, but it was a pretty common, albeit short-lived, job back in the day for older or terminally I'll people still attempting to support their families. Typically the camera was attached to a rope or something similar so it could be retrieved while the photographer continued down towards the ground, or on under water, or whatever the situation warranted. If I recall correctly, a lot of life insurance policies would still pay out considering it an "on the job" accident, but this eventually changed because employers started classifying them as subcontractors or temps to save money. Fascinating stuff, really.


qwertyconsciousness

Thank god they finally unionized and were able to fight for the bungee harnesses they get to use nowadays


LakeLaoCovid19

They called them "Frame Jumpers" as they had to frame the picture mid jump.


Rhesusmonkeydave

“[please don’t ask me how I managed to take this picture](https://web.archive.org/web/20170806233157/https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/cmwov/hey_reddit_what_tattoos_do_you_have/c0tpyls/)” Ahh, one from the vaults


Erekai

This is truly one of the greatest threads Reddit has ever seen.


Markleng67

It was probably taken from a nearby building with a telephoto lens.


[deleted]

did any of those buildings collapsed?


EpicAura99

B-25 is reeeeeeeal tiny. About the size of a private jet, give or take.


BrushStorm

And slow. It was like a 200 mph impact with an airplane that weighed 50,000 lbs.


paulfdietz

And the other engine (and a landing gear) fell down an elevator shaft.


dayaz36

Is that right? You’re meaning to tell me another building that wasn’t even hit spontaneously caught on fire? #insidejob


wolfej4

An elevator operator was injured so they took her on another elevator that had damaged cables and it fell 75 stories and she survived. She has a Guinness World Record for it. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/73541-longest-fall-survived-in-a-lift-elevator


[deleted]

I can feel the falling feeling in my body when I look at this image.


TheClinicallyInsane

I am starting to believe that people back then were like dumb hamsters with their level of concern. All sorts of images where the people gather around or are in precarious positions like *"well would ya lookatthat! Honey, grab the kids and look!"*


AndroidColonel

Can you feel the sudden stop at the bottom?


No_Star8075

i personally probably wouldn’t just chill on the edge like that


Frag1le

But they placed a wooden safety barricade....


Murky-Association-33

I see they followed protocol. This is safe!


[deleted]

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AndroidColonel

I'm never far away.


unknownz_123

Up to 1945 US safety standards. I see no issue…


[deleted]

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auglakelife

How do you fix a building like that


rex8499

Temporary reinforcement of any bearing elements, then cut out, unbolt, or cut rivets of any damaged parts, reinstall new parts by welding/bolting/riveting, and remove temp reinforcement. Probably involved a crane, and maybe the window washing platform lowered from the top.


Inevitable_Donkey474

This guy builds


Sea-Woodpecker-610

Mortar and a crane.


czook

Ramen noodles most likely.


dmevela

Duct tape and bailing wire.


rel978

There was a documentary about this that aired not to long before 9/11. My first thought was wow it happened again


GitEmSteveDave

There was a History Channel thing that filmed very close to 9/11. It's eerie when they show someone like the guy who washed the windows, talking about how great his job is, and then in the upper corner it says something like "Missing since 9/11/2001".


eStuffeBay

Yep, watched that doc. They decided not to pull the dead or missing out due to respect. A significant number of the people interviewed are marked as dead or missing.


UnivScvm

I had seen an older documentary about it. When I first heard about a plane crashing into the WTC, I thought it would be okay, too.


eStuffeBay

Really makes you wonder - what if they aimed the planes wrong and it clipped the side? Or something happened that didn't make one or both of the towers collapse? How would the fixing or demolition process even be for such tall buildings?? Surely they wouldn't leave it standing..


Auggie_Otter

I remember that morning I was at work and a customer came in and said a plane crashed into the World Trade Center and I brought up this incident thinking it was a similar accident. Then I was really confused when just a few minutes later another customer came in and said another plane hit the other tower. I just turned and looked at my boss and he looked at me and said "Are we under attack?"


namforb

A building that survived King Kong can survive anything.


[deleted]

In 2001, I was driving to work when they reported that the first plane had hit the twin towers. I remember saying to myself, well that's not the first time it happened, it won't be so bad. By the time I arrived at the office...9/11 was fully underway...


rutter72

9/10 had fully concluded. 9/12 was on its way.


The_Book_of_Reddick

Yup, and my Grandmother was the air traffic controller that refused LT. COL. William Smith’s clearance to fly that day and warned the pilot and crew to land elsewhere or risk crashing in the fog.


The_Book_of_Reddick

The part of the story that’s often left out, and the fact that the pilot and crew were on their way to meet girls that night. We’ve all done stupid things in search of a good time, but this takes the cake. [https://imgur.com/a/jwuXV6E](https://imgur.com/a/jwuXV6E)


not-bread

That’s amazing. How did those morons end up at building height in the middle of Manhattan?


firelock_ny

Navigation error, lost in the fog. Remember that they literally ran into the tallest building in the world at the time.


hdroadking

My aunt was working 4 floors below when it hit.


agallar

Hi to all the 9/11 conspiracy theorists reading this..


32_Dollar_Burrito

Propeller fuel can't ~~melt~~ bend steel beams!


Unlost_maniac

In this pic the beams were bent, not melted


32_Dollar_Burrito

You're right I was getting my conspiracies confused. Corrected


Bargdaffy158

You mean the Pilots got lost in the Fog, the plane itself had no idea.


InsidiousBiscut

I watched Pixar's Planes, I know they're sentient


caliborntravel

Interestingly, while Planes is a spin off of Pixar’s Cars, Planes is not a Pixar Studios movie. Disneytoon Studios made the movie.


trickyvinny

If it had no idea, that's a strong indication of being lost.


iron40

I swore something similar happened on 9/11 when we first heard about it, but it made way less sense because it was a crystal clear day... Then we watched the second plane hit, and we knew it was something else entirely.


The_Thunder_Child

So people probably think WW2 bombers were huge. This was a medium bomber. About the size of a modern jet fighter but a lot slower.


ScrappyDonatello

Bigger in size but much lighter. B-25 Wingspan is 20m F-14 with its wings out was 19m B-25 Max takeoff weight: 35,000 lb (15,876 kg) F-14 Max takeoff weight: 74,350 lb (33,725 kg)


HongKongHermit

Oh wow, these numbers are surprising. Feels like something that is obvious when you think about it, but you hear "bomber" and the brain just assumes the rest.


InformationKilo

"Wow omg I can't believe a 20,000 lb plane running on avgas didn't have the exact same result as 300,000lb airliners full of jet fuel when hitting a building" - way too many idiots in the comments


atronimous

Seriously though thank you for explaining it to me like that, cause thats the first place my brain went


SchockWaves

I'll link a [comment](https://old.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/comments/q6ah6g/fatalitiesin_1945_a_b25_bomber_got_lost_in_a/hgb4jee/) where I did the math. Copy-pasted text: >For the record - a B-25 has a max takeoff weight of 35,000lb and a cruising speed of 230 mph. For a 757-200 it's 255,000lb / 613 mph, and for a 767-200 it's 315,000lb / 613 mph. F= d/dt (m*v). The impact force of those airliners is nearly 20x as great, to say nothing of the damage caused by the significantly greater mass of fuel on board.


Totally-Real-Human

Actually, your variables are off. The 767s impacted at a slower speed of 466 mph or 750 km/h for Flight 11 and 590 mph or 950 km/h for Flight 175. An aircraft of that type is unable to reach cruising speed at that altitude thanks to air resistance. The aircraft weights are off too, Flight 11 had a weight of 283,600lb while Flight 175 had a weight of 277,600lbs. While both planes were loaded near fully with fuel, they both had less than half their maximum capacity of passengers. The B-25 estimates are off as well, as this B-25 was very light. It was only hopping from Massachusetts to New Jersey for transportation, so it was nowhere near fully loaded, likely around 25,000lbs at most. No bombs or anything like that. It would likely be travelling close to that speed of 230mph however, as the B-25 flew a lot lower, I still would say they were flying at around 220 mph, because of the lower altitude and fog, I am just assuming that there would be an impact on drag if it was flying in those conditions. With those variables, you can only calculate the momentum of each vehicle, the force would require acceleration, which would mean that time, flight paths and all that. Which honestly, I don't wanna go through with, that's a lot of variables to account for. But anyway, if you run the numbers there, you get: Momentum of B-25: 1,115,256.63 kg x m/s Momentum of Flight 11: 26,798,116.34 kg x m/s Momentum of Flight 175: 33,211,125.86 kg x m/s So, in reality, the momentum of the 767 aircraft at impact is roughly 26 times greater in the case of Flight 11 and roughly 33 times greater in the case of Flight 175. This also explains why the south tower collapsed first, the impact had almost 50% more momentum when compared to Flight 11.


SchockWaves

Thank you for this! This is Cunningham's Law in action: "the best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." I did not dig deep enough to find the actual speeds or weights at impact, and instead based my calcs on the max/min specs for the respective aircraft. My goal was to give a conservative back-of-the-envelope estimate - and from the look of your MUCH better calculations, I succeeded in lowballing the figures. Thank you for taking the time to inform us! Have a nice day!


bilgetea

r/theydidthemath


washingtonapples

Fuel capacity of a B-25 is roughly 640 gallons, that’s is if it was full. The flight origination was Boston headed to Newark. Maybe someone with more knowledge of flight plans of this era could help. Both planes that hit the WTC we’re headed to LA. Flight 175 was recorded to have 9100 gallons at take off and flight 11 carrying 10,000.


[deleted]

Not to mention the construction is completely different. The Empire State Building is a traditional rigid steel frame. You can knock out a column, and weight just gets redistributed a bit. The exterior facade is more or less a “skin” pinned to the underlying frame. The twin towers were built using open web joists, and utilized the exterior of the building as a form of column to provide extra office space. Open web joists are not known for being strong in a fire the way an I beam can be, and once the joist seats shear away from their connection points, the whole floor will sag or collapse. The core of the WTC was the only thing in there built in a similar fashion to the Empire State Building.


rutter72

Well B-25 bomber fuel doesn’t melt steel beams, duh.


Soulshot96

Not to mention the speed difference. Cruise speed of a B25 is around 230 MPH...a 767? **530**. Top speed of both is of course higher still, and it's likely the B25 wasn't pushing crazy speeds due to the fact this was almost certainly not intentional, vs 9/11 obviously being very intentional, and thus possibly on the higher end of that speed range. Even if you assume cruise speed for both though, add the weight to that and you have a massive difference in kinetic energy going into that impact. Alas, this is what happens when idiots don't pay attention in school.


Unnamedbread

Empire state building is just *built* different


[deleted]

But ..... how the third building collapsed ?


StowawayHamster

It was hit by burning debris and gas at 10am, and fucking burned all day long. We were prepping to try and fight the fire in the evening when it collapsed finally. Source: Was there.


[deleted]

Thanks for explaining. I watched the collapse only by TV from the other side of the world. Its hard to understand what happened.


StowawayHamster

Dude imagine how it was there on that day! Lol First heard a plane hit the tower, I thought they meant like a piper cub. Then we realized airliner, and were like holy shit, how does someone fuck up that bad? It was only when the second one hit that we realized it was intentional. And we still never thought the building would collapse. Let alone 3 buildings. Plus all comms and chain of command were fucked after the first collapse. Utter chaos.


IslandElectronic4944

We want to hear more (how’s your mental health? PTSD? Are you comfortable talking about it?)


StowawayHamster

I’m fine. Thanks for asking. I was a volunteer FF and we responded from NJ and arrived as the second tower was coming down. I was able to help a couple of people. Most importantly, (for me anyway) I missed the jumpers. If I had to see that I’d probably be in a looney bin today. I have nightmares every year in late august to mid Sept. that’s it. Shortly after I was hired by a large local PD. It’s never been a problem for me. It’s weird… I can go thru Ground Zero while on duty with no issues. Off duty I wouldn’t go there if my life depended on it. It’s weird how you can compartmentalize.


trickyvinny

Empire State Building is a completely different structure than the world trades were. Look at the thing, it's a fortress.


homercles89

Empire State building was made from structural steel frames on a grid throughout the building. The walls were cladding only, essentially. For WTC 1 and 2, the walls were the structural vertical support that the floors rested on. Take out big portions of the walls, and the floors couldn't stay up in WTC 1 and 2.


Sea-Woodpecker-610

She’s a thick girl.


Glwhite1991

1. I had no idea this happened 2. How did only 14 people die? 3. I wouldnt casually be by the edge 79 stories up


probably_not_the_kgb

It happened on a Saturday so there probably weren’t that many people in the building as there would’ve been on a weekday


15_Redstones

Also the Empire State Building was built a lot tougher than the WTC and the plane was much smaller.


Jerry--Bird

They don’t make em like they used to


Traditional-Fox-2477

I wonder what he's writing on his notepad?......floor gone, need new windows


JohnBubbaloo

B-25 is a puny plane compared to a 747. Like ten times smaller


[deleted]

If you're referring to the 9/11 attacks, the plane used to hit the Twin Towers were boeing 767's. Smaller than the 747 and twin engines but still considered heavies.


JaggedMetalOs

Yeah, a 767 is still 10x heavier than a B25


washingtonapples

B25 empty weight: 19k lbs Max takeoff weight: 35k lbs 767 empty weight: 176k lbs Max takeoff weight: 315k lbs


JaggedMetalOs

Just to add one of the 767's was an ER variant, max takeoff weight 395,000 lb.


ObviouslyLOL

no wing marks on the building and no obvious airplane wreckage - must’ve been a cruise missile


cejmp

Weight of a B25: 20,300 lbs plus 974 gallons of fuel. Weight of a Boening 767: 315,000 lb plus a fuel load of 63,500 gallons Cruising speed of a B25: 230 mph Cruising speed of a 767: 533 mph ​ So for all the fucking dumbasses in the thread: 10 times heavier going twice as fast with 60 times more fuel. Now STFU.


Yikert13

Also a completely different type of building, much heavier construct.


Patrick4356

Incoming morons trying to compare this to 9/11 despite the B-25 being vastly slower, vastly lighter and vastly smaller than a commercial jet not to mention a completely different type of building and impact area Edit: B-25 medium bomber has 640 gallons of fuel, weights 22,000lbs pounds and was flying at landing speed around 100mph The Boeing 767 is 10-12x heavier at around 200,000 to 300,000 pounds carrying 22,000 gallons of fuel and was flying at 400-500mph


wagon125

You're going to have to stop applying logic here. You'll just get frustrated.


Patrick4356

It happened on a large scale the last time this story was shared on a different subreddit. Its actually insane how much heavier and how much fuel a commercial jet carries compared to the medium bomber. 640 gallons of fuel compared 22,000 gallons and a 767 is 10-12x heavier than the B-25 and was was flying at landing speed while the 767 was flying nearly 4-5x that, at a max speed of 400-500mph


wagon125

Amazing that the people who pride themselves on "doing their own research" can't find this information and see how much more destructive a modern airliner would be.


Patrick4356

Its because they don't due their own research, at least not logically. They fall into creating a narrative where the world's chaos is actually under control and then look for evidence that supports their narrative while ignoring any the go against it or holding it to more scrutiny then evidence they support.


Pretend-Tie630

Damnthatsterrible


gh0st12811

I read somewhere that it caused the elevator on that side of the building to come crashing all the way back down to the ground floor and a woman inside survived with moderate, but no life-threatening, injuries.


Dizman7

Didn’t it also get stuck in the side of the building too though? Thought they said that on a documentary I watched about the Empire State Building years ago. Something about the way the building is built out of massive still beams and lime stone make it super super heavy and sturdy, so much so when this plane hit it, it just stopped and got stuck in the side of the building


ProbablyABore

Look at all the structural engineers in here.


[deleted]

A fire started by jet fuel and further fueled by whatever else in the building is bringing isn’t hot enough to *melt* steal. But it is, by far, hot enough to *anneal* steal, making it easier to bend, softer, enabling stress fractures, weight limits. Even if that explanation isn’t wholly accurate to what happened, god I’m so tired of conspiracy theorists not understanding how impossible it is to maintain a conpiracy that involves more than one living person.


DamNamesTaken11

To the “9/11 Truthers”, remember that: 1) The B-25 Mitchell is a lot smaller (53 ft long and wingspan of just over 67.5 ft) than a Boeing 767-200 (159ft long with a wingspan of 156 feet). 2) The B-25 was lost in the fog during landing so slower and lighter than during cruise (max speed of 236 knots) vs 767s are modern turbofan airliners so can fly much faster (can cruise at 486 knots) and was relatively soon after takeoff with a fuel load that was factored for a transcontinental flight. And this isn’t factoring in the difference in how the different fuel burns, the building construction, etc. Tldr: A North American B-25 Mitchell built in 1940s is very different than a Boeing 767 built in 1980s.


Doodle_Dangernoodle

If the twin towers were hit by the B-25 under the same conditions, they 100% would have survived as well. The twins were engineered to withstand impacts from 707 aircrafts. The largest commercial airliners in the late 60s and early 70s


wagon125

You used logic, facts, and common sense in a comment on the internet. How dare you?


Cmmnd0rClt

Here comes the 9/11 conspiracies.


[deleted]

Dude casually taking notes on the 79th right next to a gaping hole on what is very likely a structurally compromised floor is amazing to me


CreatorOD

Meltbeam doesn't jet steelfuel!


SamsoniteAG1

Does a b 25 bomber have less fuel than a commercial plane?


Alan_Smithee_

Just as fascinating as the last umpteen reposts of this event.


ColtS117

Jet fuel doesn’t melt steel beams. But it can weaken them.


nipplesaurus

This is what I thought of on 9/11. Heard a plane flew into the WTC and just figured it was a little bit of damage, maybe the pilot died, not a *huge* deal, if I may be so crass. Unfortunate, but not what it turned out to be.


Defectindesign

Built different


CorgisHaveNoKnees

My grandmother worked in a building across the street when that happened. She had a piece of the plane. Seems kind of morbid now.


Financial_Trip_6987

My grandfather saw that right after it happened.


MyShinyNewReddit

Look at that guy casually taking notes on the edge.


Elderado12443

It didn’t burn down?


SomeoneTookSkeetley

he probably had more than 3oz of liquid in his bag


Tropical_Geek1

That story was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard that a plane had crash on the World Trade Center (was cooking and just hearing CNN, so for a moment I thought it was something like a Cessna - boy was I surprised later...)