Why are there practically no markers or memorials to plane crashes in the US?

[quietmedic]

this is certainly the case in New York that seems to be the trend across the US... At the actual crash site of Major Airliners, there are, with very few exceptions, no markers at the sites to honor or memorialize what occurred there. In New York for instance I have been to almost every major aircraft crash site, and the onlyMarco I have ever seen is a small one at the base of a tree, at the 2001 crash site in Belle Harbour, Queens. (never mind how strange it is that there are two new houses built over the impact crater,I wonder if the residents are aware that over 200 people lost their lives in their basement!). I wonder if this is a cultural issue, as this is in contrast to what I have noticed abroad, we're at many disaster sites such as terrorist attacks and such, there are markers and memorials with names of the victims on or very close to the exact sites. Any thoughts?

[moose135]

In many cases, if the accident occurred - or ended up - on private property, it is up to the owners of the property whether or not to allow a memorial. You do see them, but many times it is "near" the site, not at it.

At Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, there is a memorial to those lost in the collision of the TWA Constellation and United DC-8 in 1960, where the remains of a number of victims were buried.

https://photos.smugmug.com/New-York-City/Green-Wood-Cemetary/i-LFzZTq6/0/L/JM_2010_12_19_Greenwood_003-L.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/New-York-City/Green-Wood-Cemetary/i-pchnckK/0/L/JM_2010_12_19_Greenwood_004-L.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/New-York-City/Green-Wood-Cemetary/i-gbDdjJF/0/L/JM_2010_12_19_Greenwood_005-L.jpg

And of course, the TWA 800 Memorial on Long Island

https://photos.smugmug.com/Long-Island/TWA-Flight-800-Memorial/i-TWRffb8/2/L/JM_2006_09_16_TWA012-L.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Long-Island/TWA-Flight-800-Memorial/i-WTHpDkG/2/L/JM_2006_09_16_TWA002-L.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Long-Island/TWA-Flight-800-Memorial/i-4KzhMNx/1/L/JM_2008_07_17_TWA800_004-L.jpg

At CLT, there are two memorials - one to the victims of Air Midwest (US Airways Express) Flight 5481, a Beech 1900 that crashed into a hangar on takeoff. That memorial is located near the hangar on a public street on the airport grounds. There is (or was) another one, for US Air Flight 1016, a DC-9 which crashed while landing on Runway 18R (now 18C) and ended up in a residential area near the airport. That area was closed for the development of the current 18R/36L. I've heard the memorial is still on site, but the area is not open to the public, so I don't know the status of the memorial.

[megatop412]

Wow I didn't know there was a memorial for US5481, that was the one where they were improperly loaded causing the CG shift, wasn't it

[moose135]

Wow I didn't know there was a memorial for US5481, that was the one where they were improperly loaded causing the CG shift, wasn't it

Yes, that's the one - incorrect CG, coupled with improperly rigged elevator controls.

[quietmedic]

True, there are those memorials...odd, though, as I've been to both of the 1960 crash sites and there is no indication of what happened there, neither on private nor on ppublic property. I can't imagine too may are alive today who go to the cemetary memorials anymore. Always seemed odd that the remains and plane parts are scooped up, then the site is cleaned and business goes on as usual, and the event disappears into history without a trace...again, I am biased from living in a place abroad where every major even or terror attack is memorialized on the site with a plaque or more.