8:14
Multitudes had abandoned the metropolitan area . Other multitudes trusted to the subways , to the narrow street canyons and to the strength of concrete and steel . Others climbed to a thousand high places and watched , trusting the laws of chance . She passed over Manhattan in the evening -- between 8:14 and 8:27 P.M. , July 16 , 1976 -- at an altitude of about 2000 feet . She swerved away from the aircraft that blanketed Long Island and the Sound , swerved again as the southern group buzzed her instead of giving way . She made no attempt to rise into the sun-crimsoned terror of drifting smoke . The plan was intelligent .