NYC, NY Plane Crash on UES had Yanks Pitcher Cory Lidle inside :-(

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_284145842.html

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK 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 two people and raining flaming debris on sidewalks, authorities said. The New York Times quoted an unnamed city official as saying Lidle was dead.

A law enforcement official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Lidle was on the plane. And Federal Aviation Administration records showed the single-engine plane was registered to the athlete, who just days ago -- after the Yankees' humiliating elimination from the playoffs -- told reporters that he was getting his pilot's license.

The official said he did not know whether Lidle was at the controls; at least one other person was aboard the four-seat aircraft.

The New York Medical Examiner's office at one point said two people had been killed in the crash. It later revised that number down to two.

The crash rattled New Yorkers' nerves five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, abut the FBI and the Homeland Security quickly said there was no evidence it was anything but an accident. Nevertheless, fighter jets were sent aloft over New York and other U.S. cities as a precaution, the Pentagon said.

The plane came through a hazy, cloudy sky and hit the 20th floor of The Belaire -- a red-brick tower overlooking the East River, about five miles from the World Trade Center -- 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.

At a news conference, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said 11 firefighters suffered minor injuries. The Associated Press later said only two civilians were injured. The mayor also said he expected most of the residents to be back in the building by later Wednesday evening.

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

Large crowds gathered in the street in the largely wealthy New York neighborhood, with many people in tears and some trying to reach loved ones by cell phone.

"I was worried the building would explode, so I got out of there fast," said Lori Claymont, who fled an adjoining building in sweatpants.

On Sunday, the day after the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs, Lidle cleaned out his locker at Yankee Stadium and talked about his interest in flying.

He explained to reporters the process of getting a pilot's license, and said he intended to fly back to California in several days and planned to make a few stops. Lidle disccused the plane crash of John F. Kennedy Jr. and how he had read the accident report on the National Transportation Safety Board Web site.

Lidle, acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies on July 30, told The New York Times last month that his four-seat Cirrus SR20 plane was safe.

"The whole plane has a parachute on it," Lidle said. "Ninety-nine percent of pilots that go up never have engine failure, and the 1 percent that do usually land it. But if you're up in the air and something goes wrong, you pull that parachute, and the whole plane goes down slowly."

Lidle pitched 1 1/3 innings in the fourth and final game of the Division Series against the Detroit Tigers and gave up three earned runs, but was not the losing pitcher. He had a 12-10 regular-season record with a 4.85 ERA.

He pitched with the Phillies before coming to the Yankees. Began his career in 1997 with the Mets. He also pitched for Tampa Bay, Oakland, Toronto and Cincinnati.

Lidle was an outcast among some teammates throughout his career because he became a replacement player in 1995, when major leaguers were on strike.



My thoughts are with his family right now. Thankfully there were no other deaths other than the two people in the plane.

 

Yeah...a real tragedy.

 

I'm in total shock. We were almost the same age.
I Just watched him pitch Saturday.

 

Can you imagine what people must have been thinking at the time? When my brother said a plane crashed into a building in NYC, I assumed the worst... Poor guy.


And not to belittle the tragedy, but who are the Yaks?