Lidle dies as plane crashes into Manhattan high-rise
ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK – A small plane piloted by New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle crashed into a 50-story condominium tower Wednesday on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, raining flaming debris onto the sidewalks below and rattling New Yorkers’ nerves five years after the Sept. 11 attack.
Lidle died in the crash.
The twin-engine 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.