***Bumped to top, title modified ***
UPDATE: Bizarre news via CNN Alerts: “New York Yankees manager Joe Torre says the plane that crashed into a building in Manhattan is registered to team pitcher Cory Lidle.”
UPDATE: ESPN reports Lidle is dead.
A small plane piloted by New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle crashed into a 50-story condominium tower Wednesday on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, killing at least four people, authorities said.
Lidle died in the crash.
UPDATE: That story was timestamped 5:02 EST. Now, at 5:10, the story is less decisive:
A small plane with New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle aboard crashed into a 50-story condominium tower Wednesday on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, killing at least four people and raining flaming debris on sidewalks, authorities said.
Federal Aviation Administration records showed the single-engine plane was registered to Lidle, and FBI reports show that Lidle’s passport was found at the scene. The FBI believed Lidle was the only person aboard the plane and the other three deaths occurred inside the building.
Presumably, this at least alleviates concerns about terrorism. Whether this was an accident or a bizarre suicide attempt is unknown at this point.
A sidebar to the story notes that many athletes have been killed in airplane crashes:
Individual athlete air crashes
• Feb. 14, 2000: Tony Bettenhausen, Jr., race car driver/owner, near Lexington, Ky.
• Oct. 25, 1999: Payne Stewart, golfer, Mina, S.D.
• July 12, 1993: Davey Allison, race car driver, Talladega, Ala.
• Jan. 1, 1993: Alan Kulwicki, race car driver, Bristol, Tenn.
• Jan. 11, 1980: Bo Rein, LSU football coach, Atlantic ocean
• Feb. 9, 1979: Thurman Munson, NY Yankee catcher, Canton, Ohio
• Nov. 29, 1975: Graham Hill, race car driver, Hertfordshire, England
• Dec, 31, 1975: Roberto Clemente: Pittsburgh Pirate outfielder, San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Aug. 31, 1969: Rocky Marciano, heavryweight boxing champion, Newton, Iowa
• Feb. 13, 1964: Ken Hubbs, Chicago Cubs second baseman, near Provo, Utah
• March 31, 1931: Knute Rockne, Notre Dame football coach, Bazaar, Kan.
Team air crashes
• March 14, 1980: 14 members of U.S. Olympic boxing team, near Warsaw, Poland
• Dec. 13, 1977: 14 members of University of Evansville basketball team, Evansville, Ind.
• Nov. 14, 1970: 37 members of Marshall University football team, near Huntington, W. Va.
• Oct. 2, 1970: 14 members of Wichita State football team, Silver Plume, Col.
• Feb. 15, 1961: 18 members of U.S. figure skating team, near Brussels, Belgium
• Oct. 29, 1960: 16 members of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football team, near Toledo, Ohio
Allison’s death was in a helicopter, I believe.
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW:
A small aircraft flew into a New York City high-rise, setting fire to a residential area. NORAD has scrambled fighter jets as a precaution in case this is the beginning of a series of terrorist attacks.
An aircraft has crashed into the middle of a brick luxury high-rise residential building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side at 72nd Street and York Avenue, police officials said.
The building is very close to the East River. There was no word on casualties as firefighters battled the flames that shot up from several windows in the middle of the building. The Federal Aviation Administration has said a “general aviation” aircraft had hit the building.
A North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) spokesperson, which monitors air traffic, told CNN that it had not been tracking the aircraft.
Witness Sarah Steiner told CNN that fires were burning on the ground. “It looks like the plane just flew into someone’s living room there.” (Watch the orange flames ravage the apartment — 1:50) “It looks as if the aircraft didn’t go into the building but fell down,” she said. “It may be part of the debris burning on the ground.”
My strong guess is that this is an accident rather than a terrorist attack. Then again, that was my initial reaction when the first plane hit on 9/11.
