Small Aircraft Crashes Into NY City Building

[Naim 6]

Plane In NYC Crash Registered To Yankees Pitcher

 

Associated Press

 

POSTED: 4:37 pm EDT October 11, 2006

UPDATED: 4:57 pm EDT October 11, 2006

 

NEW YORK -- A small plane crashed into a 50-story condominium tower Wednesday on Manhattan's Upper East Side, raining flaming debris onto the sidewalks below and rattling New Yorkers' nerves five years after the Sept. 11 attack. Police said at least two people were killed.

 

A law enforcement official has told The Associated Press that a member of the New York Yankees organization was aboard the plane. Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane was registered to pitcher Cory Lidle.

 

The FBI and the Homeland Security Department said there was no evidence it was a terrorist attack. "The initial indication is that there is a terrible accident," Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said. Nevertheless, fighter jets were sent aloft over U.S. cities as a precaution, the Pentagon said.

 

The plane hit the 20th floor of the Belaire - a tower overlooking the East River, about five miles from the World Trade Center - on a hazy, cloudy afternoon with a loud bang, touching off a raging fire that cast a pillar of black smoke over the city and sent flames shooting from four windows on two adjoining floors.

 

Firefighters shot water streams of water at the flames from the floors below and put the blaze out in less than an hour.

 

Police said two people were killed, but they did not say whether they died aboard the plane or on the ground.

 

Young May Cha, a 23-year-old Cornell University medical student, said she was walking back from the grocery store down 72nd Street when she saw an object out of the corner of her eye.

 

"I just saw something come across the sky and crash into that building," she said. Cha said there appeared to be smoke coming from behind the aircraft, and "it looked like it was flying erraticaly for the short time that I saw it."

 

"The explosion was very small. I was not threatened for my life," she added.

 

Richard Drutman, a professional photographer who lives on the 11th floor, said he was talking on the telephone when he felt the building shake.

 

"There was a huge explosion. I looked out my window, and saw what appeared to be pieces of wings, on fire, falling from the sky," Drutman said. He and his girlfriend quickly evacuated the building.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was too early to determine what type of aircraft was involved, or what might have caused the crash. There was no immediate word on where the plane came from or where it was headed.

 

"Fighters are airborne over numerous U.S. cities and while every indication is that this is an accident we see this as a prudent measure at this time," said Sgt. Claudette Hutchinson, a spokeswoman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colo.

 

However, all three New York City-area airports continued to operate normally, FAA spokesman Jim Peters said. In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said neither President Bush nor Vice President Dick Cheney was moved to secure locations.

 

And Homeland Security's Knocke said: "There is no specific or credible intelligence suggesting a threat to the homeland at this time."

 

The crash struck fear in a city devastated by the attacks of Sept. 11 five years ago. Sirens echoed across the neighborhood as emergency workers and ambulances rushed in with stretchers. Broken glass and debris were strewn around the neighborhood.

 

"There's a sense of helplessness," said Sandy Teller, watching from his apartment a block away. "Cots and gurneys, waiting. It's a mess."

 

The tower was built in the late 1980s and is situated near Sotheby's auction house. It has 183 apartments, many of which sell for more than $1 million.

 

Several lower floors are occupied by doctors and administrative offices, as well as guest facilities for family members of patients at the Hospital for Special Surgery, hospital spokeswoman Phyllis Fisher said.

 

No patients were in the high-rise building and operations at the hospital a block away were not affected, Fisher said.

[Lawrence L 0]

Wah... Haze from indonesia reached NYC....!!!

 

Caused the chopper or plane cant see and crashed into the building...

[Sandeep G 1]

condolences to the people in the plane...

 

this is a very unfortunate incident.. and it rocked America to the point of despatching USAF and national guard aircraft over major cities in fear of a repeat 9/11 attack..

 

Thankfully, not too many casualties on the ground for this incident.

[Gavin Andrew David 6]

NEW YORK (XFN-ASIA) - A small aircraft crashed into a high-rise apartment building in Manhattan, killing two people and triggering memories of the September 11 attacks of five years ago.

 

Although authorities ruled out terrorism, fighter jets were scrambled over US cities and New York authorities heightened security alert levels after the plane slammed into the building on Manhattan's posh upper east side.

 

The plane, a Cirrus SR20, was being flown by New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, 34, who was one of the two dead, the ESPN television network and other US media reported.

 

The single-engine plane struck the upper floors of the 50-storey apartment building around 2.45 pm (1845 GMT), raining down flaming debris and drawing an anxious crowd of hundreds of New Yorkers.

 

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the plane carrying a student pilot and instructor took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, circled the State of Liberty and then headed up the East River before falling off radar screens.

 

He said there was no sign of terrorism and added, 'Sadly an accident like this cost two people their lives. But I don't know that there's any greater significance'.

 

The governor of New York state, George Pataki, said the crash triggered a heightening in alert levels. 'The federal authorities have taken steps to put air cover over some of the cities in the country simply as a precaution,' he said.

 

'Obviously, we have taken steps and the security level has been significantly heightened even from the normal level orange conditions until there is a final determination as to what exactly happened here,' he added.

 

The television images of the burning building evoked memories of the devastating attacks of September 11, 2001 on New York and Washington when Al-Qaeda militants flew hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people.

 

Source : Forbes

[Pieter C. 5]

Just heard on the (radio) news, the plane had engine problems; yeah, not easy to find a suitable landing spot while overhead Manhattan

[Sandeep G 1]

oh wow.. a Cirrus CR20.. that's a pretty nice aircraft..

smoke was seen trailing the aircraft, still could be either engine or avionics/cabin fire.. I wonder why the were flying so close to the city though... aren't there restrictions in place? or were they aiming for the Hudson/East river?

[Naim 6]

Just heard on the (radio) news, the plane had engine problems; yeah, not easy to find a suitable landing spot while overhead Manhattan

 

I saw on CNN a possible track of the stricken plane. Seemed to pass over Central Park from the north. Why not try a landing in the park, instead of smack-bang into the middle of the building? Maybe too high.

 

[Tony 1]

I saw on CNN a possible track of the stricken plane. Seemed to pass over Central Park from the north. Why not try a landing in the park, instead of smack-bang into the middle of the building? Maybe too high.

 

Probably too high - look at where the little a/c crashed into.

[Simon 3]

I think the Americans were shaken, another attack?

[Sandeep G 1]

I think the Americans were shaken, another attack?

nope definately not an attack.. this looks like a plausible accident.. but the citizens of NY were shaken as the tower on fire brought back memories of the WTC buildings on 9/11

[Pieter C. 5]

oh wow.. a Cirrus CR20.. that's a pretty nice aircraft..

 

a woman from the NTSB on sky news just gave the reg as N929CD SR20

 

 

[Gavin Andrew David 6]

Very Nice aircraft ..

[Sandeep G 1]

Very Nice aircraft ..

indeed...

 

we wait to see what the investigation will reveal, although it will be difficult if most of the plane was destroyed in the fire...... it did look quite bad!

[Pieter C. 5]

October 11, 2006

At least two people were killed when a small aircraft crashed into a 52-floor building on Manhattan's Upper East Side on Wednesday in what appeared to be an accident, officials said.

 

The four-seat plane was owned by Yankees baseball pitcher Cory Lidle, sources at the New York police department said. The FAA confirmed the plane was owned by Lidle, 34. CNN said the pilot of the plane was Lidle and he was believed to have been killed.

 

US and New York officials said they had no reason to believe the crash, which occurred in overcast weather, was related to terrorism.

 

A New York police spokeswoman said the crash killed two people and possibly more.

 

Military fighter jets patrolled several US cities as a precaution, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said.

 

"NORAD fighters are airborne over numerous cities. They are airborne now as a prudent measure," said NORAD spokeswoman Kyle Combs. She did not say which cities were being patrolled, or how many, but added the fighters were sent up right after the plane crashed into the building.

 

On Wall Street, US stocks extended losses but quickly recovered once it became clear the crash was not an attack similar to the hijacked plane attacks of September 11, 2001.

 

"We have no reason to believe at this point that it is terrorist related," said New York City Police Chief Michael Collins.

 

Kathy Robinson, a spokeswoman for New York Presbyterian hospital said the facility had taken in one dead person and nine injured people.

 

The plane took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, just miles from Manhattan, a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman said, adding he did not know how many people were on board.

 

The aircraft crashed at East 72nd St. and York Avenue, near the East River, a 1980s building housing mainly upscale residential apartments but which also has a specialized hospital on the bottom 12 floors.

 

Luis Gonzales, 23, was working in the building remodeling a nearby apartment and saw the crash.

 

"I was looking out the window and I saw the plane coming so close to us and it swerved to try and avoid the building but it hit the building," he said. "It was a small plane. We went knocking on doors to try and see if people needed to get out, but we did not get any answers."

 

"I am still shaking," he said.

 

Smoke and flames poured from the upper floors of the high-rise building and more than 100 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, reviving memories of the September 11 attacks.

 

"It's really bad. Flames are shooting from the building. I was on my terrace and I saw it," said witness Tressa Octave, who lives two blocks away.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration said preliminary information indicated the crash was a small plane.

 

The plane was flying by visual flight rules, meaning the pilot does not have to be in contact with air traffic controllers.

 

Justice Department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said, "The initial assessment is that it probably just was a bad accident."

 

The FAA said it imposed temporary flight restrictions in the area following the crash and caused some departure delays at LaGuardia Airport.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Teoh Z Yao 0]

Plausibly an accident... But this is very scary... Just five years apart for seperate incidents to happen. Prior to 911, has there been any such incident in NYC, and for that matter, was crashing into tall buildings common?

[Nick R. 0]

Prior to 911, has there been any such incident in NYC, and for that matter, was crashing into tall buildings common?

I did read somewhere that after WW2 a USAAF bomber (B17,B25?) collided with the Empire State Building

[Pieter C. 5]

was crashing into tall buildings common?

 

About 2 years ago, a Mooney crashed into a skyscraper in Turin/IT...

[Seth K 3]

The Empire incident returns...............................

[Sandeep G 1]

About 2 years ago, a Mooney crashed into a skyscraper in Turin/IT...

 

Was that the one where the pilot was a kid who wanted to emulate the 9/11 attacks?? Or was that aircraft a cessna and hence a completely different incident? Anyone here know the one i'm talking about?

[Teoh Z Yao 0]

I remember some incidents of crashing into buildings, but I'm not sure if they were ever perceived or thought of as terrorist attacks. I vaguely remember reading the kid incident, and what was it actually? What happened?

[Sandeep G 1]

I remember some incidents of crashing into buildings, but I'm not sure if they were ever perceived or thought of as terrorist attacks. I vaguely remember reading the kid incident, and what was it actually? What happened?

 

I think he stole a plane an crashed it into a tower in Chicago???? And he was a disturbed child, wrote some lette to the authorities and his parents saying he understood why Osama Bin Laden did what he did on 9/11 and that he wanted to emulate it... something like.. I've been searching for an article, but unable to find.

[Teoh Z Yao 0]

Chicago? I thought it was in a European country. France or Italy...

 

How old was the boy?

[Sandeep G 1]

Here you go Teoh, found this archived report in CNN. Crash was in Tampa, Florida in 2002! 15 yo boy crashing into the America Plaza Building with a C172 aircraft

 

Everyone, this is OLD news! please see date of report

 

Police: Tampa pilot voiced support for bin Laden

Crash into bank building a suicide, officials say

January 7, 2002 Posted: 1:07 PM EST (1807 GMT)

 

 

TAMPA, Florida (CNN) -- A note written by the 15-year-old boy who crashed a Cessna into a Tampa office building indicated he supported Osama bin Laden and that the act was deliberate, authorities say.

 

Charles J. Bishop, who took the plane on an unauthorized flight across Tampa Bay, died at the scene of Saturday's crash into the 42-story Bank of America Plaza building. He apparently made no attempt to avoid the structure, witnesses said.

 

"I would characterize it as a suicide," said Tampa Police Chief Bennie Holder.

The note, which was found in the wreckage of the plane, "clearly stated that he had acted alone, without any help from anyone else," Holder said. "He did, however, make statements expressing his sympathy for Osama bin Laden and the events which occurred September 11, 2001." Several of the pilots involved in those attacks trained at Florida flight schools

 

"We have heard, in talking with some people, that he often mentioned being of Arab descent and we're following up on that," Holder said. "I believe his father was part Arab, I'm not exactly sure, but we are checking that out." Holder said he believed the teenager had no contact with his father Authorities have no information to support any connection between Bishop and any terror organization, Holder said. "At this point, there is no reason to suggest anyone else was involved."

 

Bishop had few friends, Holder said. "He was very much a loner. From his actions, we can assume he was a troubled young man."

 

The investigation is continuing, he said.

 

Authorities removed the computer belonging to Bishop from his house and will check it for possible clues to his motive, Holder said.

 

Bishop, who had taken flight lessons for two years, had gone to the private-plane section of the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, accompanied by his mother and grandmother. His instructor left him at the plane to perform a preflight inspection, authorities said.

 

He had no authority to get in the plane alone, a government transportation official said.

 

A ninth-grader at East Lake High School near Tarpon Springs, Florida, Bishop should have had an instructor in the plane with him, said Pinellas County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Greg Tita.

 

Once he was alone in the plane, a Cessna 172, he started the engine and took off without permission around 5 p.m. EST.

 

When the plane took off, the instructor contacted the St. Petersburg airport's air-traffic control tower, which then notified Tampa International Airport, Tampa police said. The St. Petersburg control tower also immediately notified MacDill Air Force Base since the Cessna was headed its way, said Sgt. Chris Miller, MacDill public affairs officer.

 

After a five-minute flight over Tampa Bay, the plane entered MacDill Air Force Base's restricted airspace and flew over the runway about 100 feet off the ground, Miller said. The student did not appear to be making an attempt to land nor did the plane circle or fly erratically, he added. MacDill is the home of the U.S. Central Command, which directs the U.S. forces operating in Afghanistan.

 

Helicopter chase

MacDill contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, which had a helicopter on routine patrol in the vicinity, and asked it to investigate. The helicopter caught up with the plane near Peter O. Knight Airport, about 14 miles east from where the Cessna took off, said Coast Guard spokesman Paul Rhymand.

 

Minutes before the crash, the helicopter pilot made direct eye contact with the student through the chopper's open side door as crew members gestured for Bishop to land the plane, police said. It was not clear what his response was.

 

Beyond making gestures, "There's not much a helicopter can do," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. Charlotte Pittman. She was sure the youth saw the crew's hand gestures, Pittman said.

 

Soon after, the plane crashed into the Bank of America building. The plane's wings fell to the ground, but the fuselage stuck in the building's southwest corner on the 28th and 29th floors. It was removed from its precarious perch Sunday morning, and local authorities declared the building safe.

 

Jets on patrol

After being notified Saturday by the FAA, the North American Aerospace Defense Command ordered two F-15 combat jets at Homestead Air Force Base in Miami to intercept the Cessna around 5:15 p.m., NORAD Capt. Kirstin Reimann said.

 

 

The plane crashed into the Bank of America Plaza building in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday. The pilot, 15-year-old Charles J. Bishop, died at the scene.

The F-15s arrived on the scene too late to intervene, a Homestead spokesman said. The jets flew combat air patrol over the area until 7:30 p.m. as a precaution, Reimann added.

 

Several employees of the Tampa Club, a business and dining club, were on the top two floors of the Bank of America building when the plane crashed. There were no injuries in the building, which was evacuated.

 

Though the plane leaked fuel, it did not catch fire. Firefighters inside the building sprayed the area with foam.

 

Authorities evacuated the street below the bank building, which in the heart of the city at 101 E. Kennedy Blvd. Commercial airports in Tampa and St. Petersburg briefly suspended operations, but resumed service within about an hour.

 

President Bush was briefed on the incident, as well as two other crashes involving small aircraft Saturday afternoon. Federal authorities said the Florida crash was not related to two others in California and Colorado.

 

The Cessna, a 2000 model, is owned by National Aviation Holdings of Clearwater, Florida, according to Landings, a Web site that tracks information on aircraft.

 

-- CNN Correspondent Kathleen Koch contributed to this report

Edited October 13, 2006 by Sandeep G

[Teoh Z Yao 0]

Thanks Sandeep! Any follow-ups on the incident? NTSB?

[Sandeep G 1]

Thanks Sandeep! Any follow-ups on the incident? NTSB?

 

No idea.. I think the conclusion was that this was a suicide.. hence the NTSB report would have been straight to the point.. although there may have been additional ramifications for student pilots