Woman Dies in Car Crash at Floyd Bennett Field

By Katie McFadden

A 76-year-old woman was killed when a driver slammed a car into Hangar 4 at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn on Wednesday evening, April 8.

According to the New York Daily News, a 33-year-old woman, who was allegedly celebrating her birthday, lost control of a 2022 Toyota RAV4 and crashed into the historic hangar just after 6 p.m. According to ABC7, the driver was being given a driving lesson when she crashed.

The driver, a 45-year-old passenger and 76-year-old Pearle Davis of Bushwick, were all in the vehicle. One woman was pinned and had to be removed by firefighters from Ladder 159 in Brooklyn. The women were all transported to Brookdale University Hospital. Davis died at the hospital. The driver was in critical condition and remained unconscious as of April 9. Davis’ daughter, who was in the passenger seat, was in stable condition.

The NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad is investigating what caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash.

The car primarily slammed into a door panel on the northern side of the building inside the Floyd Bennett Field, the city’s first municipal airport. Officials said the building withstood some structural damage that was mitigated after the crash. The hole left by the missing panel has since been boarded up.

Hangars 3 and 4 are part of a future $75 million restoration and revitalization project spearheaded by the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy. According to JBRPC, “Hangar 4 will be fitted out with labs and prototyping equipment to enable scientific research and technological innovation that is focused on the natural environment and advancing nature-based solutions, building resilience in low-lying communities that are extremely vulnerable to storm surge, sea level rise, and flooding – around Jamaica Bay and beyond.” It is unclear if the recent crash will impact future plans for Hangar 4.