|  Cory Lidle Dead After Plane Crash In Upper Manhattan -
11-10-2006, 11:40 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- 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. There was no immediate confirmation Lidle was among the 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 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.
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.
Associated Press writers Robert Tanner and Adam Goldman in New York and Leslie Miller and Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington also contributed to this report.
Source: Yahoo Sports | 
Cory Lidle Dead After Plane Crash In Upper Manhattan
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