CRASH

NEW YORK -- A small plane crashed into an Upper East Side high-rise Wednesday, shooting flames out the windows, raining debris on the sidewalks below and rattling New Yorkers' nerves exactly one month after the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. Police confirmed 2 people are dead.

Christine Monaco, a New York spokeswoman for FBI, said there was no indication of terrorism, but that officials "have been sent to the scene as a routine." FAA spokesman Jim Peters said all three New York City-area airports were operating normally.

"The initial indication is that there is a terrible accident," said Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke.

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 flames were seen shooting out of the windows.

"It's a mob scene with police and helicopters circling," said Sandy Teller, watching from his apartment a block away. "There's a dozen ambulances and lots of firefighters waiting on 72nd, on the corner. There's lots of stretchers ready, gurneys. And lots of emergency people waiting."

The crash struck fear in a city devastated by the attacks of Sept. 11 five years ago. Witnesses said sirens echoed across the east side of Manhattan as emergency workers rushed to the scene. The crash triggered a loud bang. Broken glass and debris was strewn around the neighborhood.

Why do I have the feeling that as news of this reaches the Middle East there will be dancing in the streets?

Why do I have the feeling that Democrats will find a way to blame President Bush for this?

Why do I have the feeling that Al Gore will say that somehow global warming contributed to the crash?

Why do I have the feeling that Russ Feingold will say the crash occurred because we're bogged down in Iraq?

Why do I have the feeling that UW-Madison lecturer Kevin Barrett will say Dick Cheney was behind it?

Why?

Because that's how the usual suspects respond.

I wish that Americans would respond to this news with prayers for the victims, their families, and the emergency responders.

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The speculation of earlier this afternoon is over.

The plane crash was not terrorism. It was an accident and claimed the life of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A small plane carrying New York Yankee Cory Lidle slammed into a 50-story skyscraper Wednesday, apparently killing the pitcher and a second person in a crash that rained flaming debris onto the sidewalks and briefly raised fears of another terrorist attack.

A law enforcement official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Lidle — an avid pilot who got his flying license after last year's offseason — was aboard the single-engine aircraft when it slammed into the 20th floor of the high-rise on Manhattan's Upper East Side. And Mayor Michael Bloomberg said both people aboard were killed.

The official said Lidle's passport was found at the crash scene.

Federal Aviation Administration records showed the single-engine plane was registered to the athlete, who had repeatedly assured reporters in recent months that flying was safe and that the Yankees — whose catcher Thurman Munson was killed in 1979 in the crash of a plane he was flying — had no reason to worry.

The flying?" Lidle told The Philadelphia Inquirer this summer. "I'm not worried about it. I'm safe up there. I feel very comfortable with my abilities flying an airplane."

There's a Wisconsin connection.

In 1993, Cory Lidle was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers. He was traded to the Mets in 1996.

Thirty-four year old Lidle leaves behind a wife and young son.

It's a tragic accident, not a Karl Rove orchestrated "October surprise" as sicko libs were speculating on message boards at Democratic Underground.

Obviously, it takes a truly deranged individual to suggest such a thing.

Beyond that, I don't know what else to say except keep Cory Lidle, his family, friends, and teammates in your prayers; and don't forget to do the same for the family and friends of the other individual killed this afternoon.