Just.

I.D. both please.

p.s. He either just bought that or was on his way to selling it... breaks the heart.

My first thought is that the typical, "window, For Sale Sign" has not changed much in 55 years.

On second hand, maybe it has. Of the last 4 cars I have sold in the past 4 years, I never put any kind of signage in the window stating it was "For Sale" but rather just placed a CL/eBay listing. Of the cars before that, I think I did type something and print off on my own computer.

In reply to JohnRW1621:

Back then you'd see for sale signs on cars all the time. It was one of the best ways to sell a car. But like you said, things have changed. I haven't had a for sale sign on a car I was driving (I have put them on cars in my front yard) for a long, long time.

RossD wrote: I.D. both please. p.s. He either just bought that or was on his way to selling it... breaks the heart.

Looks like a C-123 Provider and a 53-54 Pontiac to me.

Definitely an early 50's Poncho, but I have no idea about the plane. I'm just trying to get my head around the situation that would have lead up to this picture...

Is this a relatively famous event?

Google fu:

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=138181

1. Date: 15-OCT-1958

2. Time: night

3. Type: Fairchild C-123B-6-FA Provider

4. Owner/operator: United States Air Force (USAF)

5. Registration: 54-0614

6. C/n / msn: 20063

7. Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:

8. Other fatalities: 1

9. Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)

10. Location: Mitchel Field, LI, NY - United States of America

11. Phase: Landing

12. Nature: Military

13. Departure airport:

14. Destination airport:

15. Narrative: Crashed on emergency landing, coming to rest on a road. Collided with three cars, killing one driver. Four others including two crew seriously injured.

Neat photo.

Interesting. The Pontiac's front end is severely compromised, but the driver's compartment (from what we can see of it) looks remarkably sound. I'd wager the driver of this car wasn't the one killed, unless it was from the "second collision", i.e. him bouncing around the cabin and hitting something else. If this car had had seat belts, the driver would probably have been OK.

I give the '54 Pontiac a 5-star crash rating, when being struck across the front by a massive airplane. I think the NHTSA should add this test to their routine.

Is that an aluminum fuselage? Took out a Pontiac?

Nice.

914Driver wrote: Is that an aluminum fuselage? Took out a Pontiac? Nice.

In this case, I believe the fuselage wadded up nicely so the Pontiac stayed relatively intact. The Pontiac model is call the Chieftain. I only know this because I had a job compounding and waxing one when I was in high school earning money for my prom bids.

If that Pontiac was still available.... I would probably give the full 1958 asking price.

Jerry From LA wrote:

914Driver wrote: Is that an aluminum fuselage? Took out a Pontiac? Nice.

In this case, I believe the fuselage wadded up nicely so the Pontiac stayed relatively intact. The Pontiac model is call the Chieftain. I only know this because I had a job compounding and waxing one when I was in high school earning money for my prom bids.

Jerry, was that car owned by a little old Japanese guy that taught martial arts on the side?

Lord, I apologize....

Mitchel Field is now a shopping centre, I have done work there

Does the phrase, 'That will buff out' apply to airplanes too?

Hellcat vs. car. Found while trying to get more info on the C-123.

<img src="" />

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I'd wager the driver of this car wasn't the one killed, unless it was from the "second collision", i.e. him bouncing around the cabin and hitting something else.

Probably died from the rigid steering column piercing his chest.

volvoclearinghouse wrote: Interesting. The Pontiac's front end is severely compromised, but the driver's compartment (from what we can see of it) looks remarkably sound.

Depends on what you mean by "sound". The cabin DID crumple, as evidenced by the door having been blown open in the collision (see how it's mangled?).

And, cars back then didn't have collapsible steering columns, so when the nose crushed, the steering wheel came up with it. Kind of like a hard, thin airbag with a surprise in the center.

Knurled wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote: Interesting. The Pontiac's front end is severely compromised, but the driver's compartment (from what we can see of it) looks remarkably sound.

Depends on what you mean by "sound". The cabin DID crumple, as evidenced by the door having been blown open in the collision (see how it's mangled?). And, cars back then didn't have collapsible steering columns, so when the nose crushed, the steering wheel came up with it. Kind of like a hard, thin airbag with a surprise in the center.

And that impact probably happened at 10 mph

Yes, the windshield post did bend under, that's evident in the picture. What I meant was it didn't seem like the compartment was intruded into enough to have squashed the occupants. I agree, without seat belts the steering wheel probably acted like a bizzaro air bag and if that didn't kill them, they probably flew over the wheel and hit the windshield.

Also, since the car had 4 wheel drum brakes, the impact probably happened at far more than 10mph. That car took at least 200 feet to stop from 50 mph, on a good day with new tires and dry pavement. It being sometime in the late 50's, the driver was likely about 3 double martinis into his evening, too, so who knows if he even got on the brakes. I don't see any skid marks.

In reply to volvoclearinghouse:

I think you are over-estimating the crash protection offered by cars this old. They crumpled like cardboard accordians. That car wasn't going very fast at the point of collision or the damage would have been much worse. My hunch is that the car was parked when the plane hit it.

The airplane also looks like it came down on the car in addition to striking it across the bow, or at least hit it high. So any crash protection offered by the Pontiac, which would have involved the front bumper (which was connected to the frame) would have been nil.