Three years ago this week, on October 11, 2006, New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, 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 postcrash fire.
The sequence of events was reported to be as follows:
- The 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., 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 accident was investigated by the NTSB, and they found that the crash had several probable causes, including pilot decision making before and during the flight.
For more details, including additional photos and links to the FAA and NTSB reports, please visit AirSafe.com's Cory Lidle page.
I've noticed that out of maybe 8 Cirrus accidents in the past 3 years, only one used its ballistic parachute system. It must really wreck the aircraft to fire the 'chute, as many pilots are choosing to ride the aircraft down using their skills and chance.
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