Fatal Plane Crash Involving
New York Yankees Pitcher Cory Lidle

New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor Tyler Stanger were killed when their aircraft crashed into a 50-story building on the upper east side of Manhattan. One person on the ground sustained serious injuries, two people on the ground sustained minor injuries, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and post crash fire. The sequence of events was reported to be as follows:

• Aircraft departed the airport at Teterboro, NJ at about 2:30 p.m.
• After traveling south along the Hudson River west of Manhattan, the aircraft circled the Statue of Liberty at about 2:36 p.m.
• The aircraft proceeded to travel around the southern tip of Manhattan and then north along the East River on the east side of Manhattan, climbing to an altitude of about 800 feet at about 2:39 p.m.
• Shortly after the aircraft flew past the United Nations building and the Queensboro Bridge, it was seen to veer toward Manhattan at about 2:41 p.m., and radar contact was lost about a minute later.
• The aircraft, which had been flying north and with a 13-knot wind coming from the east (from right side of the aircraft), made a sharp turn to the left, crashing into the north side of a 50-story building on 72nd Street, at about the 333 feet (101 meters) above street level.

The following synopsis is based on the preliminary FAA report and the NTSB Accident Brief.

NTSB Identification: DCA07MA003
Date:11 October 2006
Location: New York, NY
Aircraft:Cirrus SR-20, registration: N929CD

The Cirrus SR-20 series is a single engine aircraft that is noteworthy for its modern technology cockpit, its high performanc compared to many other single engine designs, and for a parachute system that can be deployed in an emergency. According to witnesses, the parachute did not deploy prior to the crash.

At the time of the accident, he had accumulated 87.8 hours total flight time, all of which were accumulated in the last 12 months, including 12.5 hours in Cirrus aircraft

Although the aircaft did not have either a flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder, there were numerous witnesses to the final stages of the flight, as well as radar information and video footage of the final phases of the flight. After its investigation, the NTSB concluded that the probable cause of this accident was the pilots' inadequate planning, judgment, and airmanship in the performance of a 180 degree turn maneuver inside of a limited turning space.

Accident Related Photos (click to enlarge)
Overview of the Accident Area Looking South Down the East River
Route of Accident Flight	Building Hit by Aircraft
Source: NTSB

Cirrus SR-20 Photos (similar to Cory Lidle's aircraft)
Front View	Side View
Interior View	Side Stick
All SR-20 photographs Copyright © 2006 AirSafe.com, LLC

Other Information
Full NTSB Accident Brief
Cory Lidle Wikipedia Page
Celebrity plane crashes
Older celebrity crashes