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. 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 cirlcled 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.
- The aircraft, which had been flying north, made a sharp turn to the left, crashing into the north side of a 50-story building on 72nd Street, at about the 30 story level of the building.
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. The investigation is ongoing, and it is unclear what role, if any, the aircraft design, aircraft performance, weather conditions, or pilot actions played in this event. According to witnesses, the parachute did not deploy prior to the crash.
The NTSB has sent a team of investigators to New York from its Washington, DC headquarters and the team has yet to report any findings about the circumstances that led this crash, including whether the parachute system was activated. 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.
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All photographs Copyright © 2006 AirSafe.com, LLC | |
Other Information
Fatal Events Involving Celebrities
Other Crashes Involving Celebrities
http://www.airsafe.com/events/celebs/lidle.htm -- Revised: 16 November 2007