THE HIGHEST FALLS PEOPLE HAVE SURVIVED

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STANDARD OIL REFINERY EXPLOSION IN WHITING, INDIANA ON AUGUST 27, 1955

In the early morning of Aug. 27, 1955, the Standard Oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., was rocked by a titanic explosion. The destruction that followed still ranks as one of the most monumental industrial accidents in United States history -- 60 years later. An estimated 1.25 million barrels of crude oil and refined product burned and went up in smoke.

Your humble blogger recalls standing in his front yard, at the age of almost 10, and seeing the giant pillar of black smoke in the sky about 7 or 8 miles away.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS? AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT

The first known accident between two airbag-equipped automobiles took place in 1990 in Virginia. A 1989 Chrysler LeBaron crossed the center line and hit another 1989 Chrysler LeBaron in a head-on collision, causing both driver airbags to deploy. The drivers suffered only minor injuries despite extensive damage to the vehicles

BETTY LOU OLIVER – LONGEST SURVIVED ELEVATOR FALL

On Saturday, July 28, 1945, Lieut. Col. William F. Smith Jr. was piloting a B-25 Mitchell bomber on a routine personnel transport mission from Bedford Army Air Field to Newark Airport. Smith asked for clearance to land, but was advised of zero visibility. Proceeding anyway, he became disoriented by the fog, and started turning right instead of left after passing the Chrysler Building.

At 9:40 a.m., the aircraft crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building, between the 78th and 80th floors, carving an 18-by-20-foot hole in the building. One engine shot through the south side opposite the impact and flew as far as the next block, dropping 900 feet and landing on the roof of a nearby building. The other engine and part of the landing gear plummeted down an elevator shaft. 

Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver was injured when the cables supporting her elevator sheared and the elevator fell 75 stories, ending up in the basement. Oliver managed to survive the fall and rescuers later found her amongst the rubble. This is record for the longest survived elevator fall.*

 *There is a second version of the elevator fall in which Betty Lou Oliver was found injured in the elevator and was being lowered in the elevator when the cables failed. I do not believe this is a correct version.

Editors Note: For more interesting information about elevators click on the label “Elevator” in the word cloud at the bottom of page 1 of John Smith’s Blog.

Betty Lou Oliver 5 months after the accident