[7] Proceeding anyway, he became disoriented by the fog and turned right instead of left after flying dangerously close to the Chrysler Building on East 42nd Street.

One engine shot through the south side opposite the impact, flew as far as the next block, dropped 900 feet (270 m), landed on the roof of a nearby building and caused a fire that destroyed a penthouse art studio.

Fourteen people were killed: Colonel Smith, Staff Sergeant Christopher Domitrovich, Navy Aviation Machinist's Mate Albert Perna, who was hitching a ride, and eleven civilians in the building.

After the debris had been cleared away, Armand Hammer purchased the damaged 78th floor, refurbished it, and made it the headquarters of his United Distillers of America.

The unidentified twin-engine plane, described as bearing no military insignia, flew past the 68th floor, startling workers and tourists.

[16] The events of the crash were the subject of an episode of the 2001 History channel documentary Disasters of the Century, "It Came from the Sky".