Small Aircraft Crashed into N.Y. Apts.

chocolateblnt · #1 10/11/2006, 02:30 PM

Just Happened ... check your news source!

dc · #2 10/11/2006, 02:37 PM

It looks horrible.

crp · #3 10/11/2006, 02:43 PM

Small aircraft hits Manhattan building
10/11/2006, 3:32 p.m. ET
By COLEEN LONG
The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A small plane crashed into a high-rise on the Upper East Side, raining down debris on Manhattan and unleashing what witnesses reported was a gigantic fireball, police said. An FBI spokeswoman says there is no indication of terrorism in the crash.

The aircraft struck the 20th floor of a building on East 72nd Street, said Fire Department spokeswoman Emily Rahimi. Witnesses said the crash caused a loud noise, and burning and falling debris was seen. Flames were seen shooting out of the windows.

"There's huge pieces of debris falling," said one witness who refused to give her full name. "There's so much falling now, I've got to get away."

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was too early to determine what type of aircraft was involved, or what might have caused the crash in the middle of a hazy October afternoon.

Witness Sarah Steiner, who lives one block away, told CNN that "The fire was raging out of two windows on approximately the 30th floor. ... They are evacuating the building."

Whether anyone was injured was not known, and it was unclear if the crash was an act of terrorism. Firefighters rushed to the scene.

The address of the building is 524 E. 72nd Street — a 50-story condominium tower built in the late 1980s and located near Sotheby's Auction House. The Belaire Condo, developed by William Zeckendorf Jr., has 183 apartments, many of which sell for more than $1 million.

chocolateblnt · #4 10/11/2006, 02:44 PM

... reports say it's a helicopter ...

crazyboy · #5 10/11/2006, 03:18 PM

Now said to be a small fixed wing aircraft, possibly a Cessna type aircraft.

crp · #6 10/11/2006, 03:28 PM

2 Dead.

DHyslop · #7 10/11/2006, 03:32 PM

Sounds like someone on a VFR joyride down the East River with their transponder turned off.

chocolateblnt · #8 10/11/2006, 03:34 PM

transponder? maybe it was the flux capacitor? My point is it Doesn't matter, a pilot should do everything not to hit a building or people.

dc · #9 10/11/2006, 03:50 PM

4 dead now. Plane is registered to a Yankee pitcher Cory something..

dc · #10 10/11/2006, 03:51 PM

Lidel, he was on the plane.

chocolateblnt · #11 10/11/2006, 03:58 PM

Oh! Corey Lidle ... R.I.P.

Wilafur · #12 10/11/2006, 03:59 PM

cory lidle, yankee pitcher

dc · #13 10/11/2006, 04:02 PM

These news people drive me crazy. Talk about jumping to conclusion. No wonder people are so paranoid.

DHyslop · #14 10/11/2006, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by chocolateblnt
transponder? maybe it was the flux capacitor? My point is it Doesn't matter, a pilot should do everything not to hit a building or people.

That's the point. He was probably on a joyride flying down the river below rooftop level, perhaps showing off for his passengers and hiding from air traffic control.

Dan

chocolateblnt · #15 10/11/2006, 04:20 PM

I see ... well if that's the case then nominate him for the Darwin Awards.

Jeffrey Porter · #16 10/11/2006, 04:27 PM

i don't think that would qualify for a Darwin Award.
Reading a thread over in myspace another pilot who has flown through that corridor said if he had been looking at the screens it wouldn't have taken long for him to go offcourse and get really close to the buildings.

chocolateblnt · #17 10/11/2006, 04:30 PM

I'm simply saying that is very stupid of him ... if that was actually the case. Everyone is so politically correct for it being a "lounge"

dc · #18 10/11/2006, 04:38 PM

Back down to 2 dead.

chocolateblnt · #19 10/11/2006, 04:39 PM

How do you go back down to 2 dead...? Stupid Reporters ... just as you said "jumping to conclusions..."

dc · #20 10/11/2006, 04:40 PM

I've heard so many stories, just listening to the tv. Now they are saying a distress call was issued.

Jeffrey Porter · #21 10/11/2006, 04:42 PM

well Michael Bloomberg (whom i've bumped into a couple of times at his house here) was probably told of 2 but you know how the news is. the story always changes .

chocolateblnt · #22 10/11/2006, 04:49 PM

OF course ... now their trying to clean it up ...

DHyslop · #23 10/11/2006, 04:50 PM

Here's the most detailed report I've found so far:

www.aero-news.net

Cirrus SR20 Crashes Into NYC Building
Wed, 11 Oct '06

Plane Belonged To Yankees Pitcher
ANN REALTIME UPDATE 10.11.06 1735 EDT: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters at a press conference Tuesday afternoon the plane that crashed into a Manhattan highrise apartment building departed from nearby Teterboro Airport at approximately 2:30 pm, and flew around the Statue of Liberty before turning towards the Upper East Side.

The plane dropped off of radar shortly before it impacted the building at the corner of East 72nd St. and York.

Mayor Bloomberg said four people died in the accident -- two persons onboard the plane, and two on the ground who were hit by falling debris. It has not been confirmed if New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, the owner of the accident aircraft, was onboard the plane.

1655 EDT: Officials report a passport belonging to New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle has been found in the wreckage of the Cirrus SR20 that impacted a Manhattan highrise apartment building earlier today.

chocolateblnt · #24 10/11/2006, 04:52 PM

Thanks for the update!

squiddly · #25 10/11/2006, 04:53 PM

Best not to make too many assumptions. That particular corridor, which is one of the only paths through NYC for general aviation aircraft, has a maximum altitude that is quite low. SOMETHING happened that caused the aircraft to rapidly descend, then crashed in restricted airspace.

Re: joyriding - that's what most people do in small airplanes. They fly for the sheer joy of it, for sightseeing (apparently he flew around the Statue of Liberty, etc.). It wasn't showing off necessarily. Showing off for whom? He had a flight instructor on board. The instructor likely had seen it all before.