Woman plunged 1,000 ft down elevator shaft after cables snapped and survived

If you went through a near-death experience you wouldn’t think it would land you in the Guiness Book of World Records and yet... here we are.

On July 28 1945, 20-year-old Betty Lou Oliver proved to be one of the luckiest people in New York City.

In what could have been the end of the life, Oliver managed to survive a terrible accident.

Oliver was working as an elevator girl at the Empire State Building when an American B-25 bomber plane mistakenly crashed into it.

Oliver's descent down 75 stories, around 1000 ft, saw her end up in the basement where she had to be cut out of the mangled elevator.

Oliver was working as an elevator girl at the Empire State Building when an American B-25 bomber plane mistakenly crashed into it. (Getty)

While she didn’t die, she did suffer several serious injuries - including a broken neck, back and pelvis.

But ultimately, she survived, and to this day it remains the longest fall survived in an elevator. Certainly an odd title to have but hey it's a conversation starter.

What is believed to have saved Oliver’s life is the elevator would have been slowed down by air pressure due to the relatively airtight shaft, In addition, the impact at the bottom would have also been cushioned by severed cables piling up in a spring-like spiral on the floor.

Unfortunately, while Oliver was lucky to make it out of the ordeal alive, not everyone was so lucky.

The initial plane crash was caused by an error from 27-year-old fighter pilot Lieutenant Colonel William F. Smith

The pilot served in the war in Europe, which ended only months before, so was experienced and decorated.

However, it is believed that while on a mission, transporting army personnel from Massachusetts to Newark Metropolitan Airport in New Jersey, he made a fatal error.

A piece of wreckage from the plane crash. (Getty)

The city was under a thick fog at the time and rather than turning left after the Chrysler Building, Smith mistakenly turned right, bringing him directly over midtown Manhattan.

Civil air regulations at the time also required all aircraft to fly at a minimum altitude of 2,000 ft above the city - but Smith’s plane was just 913 ft.

The plane’s wings were sheared off and its gasoline tanks exploded, creating a fire. One of the plane’s engine fell down an elevator shaft while another flew through the building and came crashing out the other side onto a nearby roof.

Lt Col Smith and his two crewmen lost their lives, as did eleven civilians inside the building.

Up to 25 other people, including Betty Lou Oliver, were injured during the incident.

Topics: News, US News, New York, World War 2

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.