In Reply to: Re: December 16, 1960 posted by Matty from Flatbush on Wednesday, December 17th 2025:

As I previously mentioned on this sad occasion, the Dec. 16, 1960, mid-air collision, over Staten Island, was the only one in the recorded history of commercial aviation in the USA, whereby two commercial airliners collided, and crashed over a major metropolitan area. The United DC-8 jet airliner, enroute from O'Hare Field in Chicago, was on its way to Idlewild Airport (now JFK Airport). One of its critical transponders was not working, but the crew failed to inform air traffic control of that vital information. Also, it was approaching NYC, at over 500 mph. As a result, it was 12 miles off course, over the Preston intersection, by Staten Island. At the same time, a TWA Constellation was approaching LaGuardia Airport, enroute from Dayton, OH, and Columbus, OH. Although Air Traffic control had both flights on radar, they could not tell at which altitudes the flights were at. Radar in those days was primitive compared to 2025. Also, the defective transponder on the United flight did not help. If ATC had been notified, it might have told the United crew to hold while the TWA flight was cleared to land. In addition, there was fog, and a snowy wet mixture in the air, making visibility very bad. As a result, the United jet struck the Constellation at a right angle, dooming it, and causing it to crash onto Miller Field on Staten Island. At that point, everyone on the United jet was alive, but the pilot had a total loss of control, probably due to the fact that his controls were damaged. Stephen Baltz told his rescuers at Methodist Hospital, that he could see the snow covered ground of Brooklyn coming closer and closer. He didn't remember a thing after the crash. He was found in a snowbank, still conscious, but badly burned. A photo of him lying in the snow (there had been about 16 inches of snow in Brooklyn, only a few days earlier), appeared on the front page. Some residents threw blankets over Stephen. The United jet struck the Pillar of Fire church, causing a massive explosion. The 90 year old caretaker of that church was killed, as well as five other Brooklyn residents on the ground, including a sidewalk vendor, a Dentist, and three other people. Stephen succumbed to pneumonia, and not from his burns. There is no doubt that with today's trauma centers, he would have survived. His Father was an executive of Maytag, and Stephen was supposed to meet his parents in NY. I don't know why he was traveling alone. He was a well respected Cub Scout, as members of his Cub Scout troop in Chicago, paid tribute to him. For many years, his family in Chicago were bothered by reporters on the date of the crash, as it brought back some painful memories. There was a gathering held at the site of the Brooklyn crash (7th Avenue and Sterling Place), on the 40th anniversary of the crash, in 2000. The nurse from Methodist Hospital, who cared for Stephen, stated that he was a very brave boy. Ten years later, in 2010, the families of the victims, erected a memorial plaque in Greenpoint Cemetery in Brooklynn, in honor of all of the victims of both flights. Years ago, I spoke to two cops from the 78th Precinct in Brooklyn, who were the first on the scene. They told me that when they called in news of the crash, nobody initially wanted to believe them. There were hundreds of New York City firefighters there, as well as ambulances, and rescue workers. One NYPD patrolman stated that he had fought in World War Two, from Normandy into Germany, and he was never as traumatized there, as he was at the crash scene in Brooklyn.

Reference ID: BK97296

Responses:

• Re: December 16, 1960 Matty from Flatbush 12/19/2025 (1)
  • Re: December 16, 1960 Nate Goldman 12/19/2025 (0)