Betty Lou Oliver
Encyclopedia
Betty Lou Oliver is best known as the 1940s elevator
attendant
for the Empire State Building
who survived two large accidents on the same day.
bomber
crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building. The plane struck the 79th floor of the building. Oliver was thrown from her post and badly burned in the accident, though she survived, while 14 others did not.
When rescuers got to her they decided to lower her via the elevator, unaware that the cables had been weakened to breaking point. Once the elevator doors closed, the cables snapped and Oliver plummeted 75 stories to the basement. Oliver survived but again had to be rescued and was later treated at the hospital for serious injuries. The thousand feet of elevator cable had fallen to the bottom of the shaft, creating a softer landing surface. The rapid compression of the air also likely helped slow the elevator's fall. This descent still stands as the Guinness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall ever recorded. Five months later, Oliver returned with an elevator inspector, who complimented her "guts" in riding the elevators to the full height of the building on that visit.
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
attendant
Elevator operator
An elevator operator is a person specifically employed to operate a manually operated elevator...
for the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
who survived two large accidents on the same day.
Accidents
Oliver was working on the 80th story of the building on July 28, 1945. On that day, due to thick fog a B-25 MitchellB-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building. The plane struck the 79th floor of the building. Oliver was thrown from her post and badly burned in the accident, though she survived, while 14 others did not.
When rescuers got to her they decided to lower her via the elevator, unaware that the cables had been weakened to breaking point. Once the elevator doors closed, the cables snapped and Oliver plummeted 75 stories to the basement. Oliver survived but again had to be rescued and was later treated at the hospital for serious injuries. The thousand feet of elevator cable had fallen to the bottom of the shaft, creating a softer landing surface. The rapid compression of the air also likely helped slow the elevator's fall. This descent still stands as the Guinness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall ever recorded. Five months later, Oliver returned with an elevator inspector, who complimented her "guts" in riding the elevators to the full height of the building on that visit.