2006 New York City plane crash

2006 New York City plane crash

The Belaire building after the fire caused by the crash was extinguished.
Summary
Date	October 11, 2006
Type	Collision with structure
Site	The Belaire, New York City
Crew	2
Injuries	21 (in building, including 11 firefighters)
Fatalities	2
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Cirrus SR20
Operator	Private
Tail number	N929CD
Flight origin	Teterboro Airport Teterboro, New Jersey[1]

The 2006 New York City plane crash occurred on October 11, 2006, when a Cirrus SR20 general aviation, fixed-wing, single-engine light aircraft crashed into the Belaire Apartments in New York City at about 2:42 p.m. local time (18:42 UTC). The aircraft struck the north side of building, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, causing a fire in several apartments,^[2][3] which was extinguished within two hours.^[4]

Both people aboard the aircraft were killed in the accident: New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle^[5] and his certificated flight instructor Tyler Stanger.^[6][7] Twenty-one people were injured, including 11 firefighters. An apartment resident, Ilana Benhuri, was hospitalized for a month with severe burns incurred when the post impact fire engulfed her apartment.^[8]

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Cirrus SR20 aircraft, tail number N929CD, was owned by Lidle.^[9]

On May 1, 2007, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that the probable cause of the crash was pilot error. The NTSB was unable to determine which person was flying the aircraft at the time of the crash.^[10]

[edit] Aircraft flight

Immediately before the crash, radar measurements show Lidle's aircraft was flying at 112 mph at 700 feet (210 m) altitude^[11] in the East River VFR corridor, an area which former NTSB official Peter Goelz described as "very tricky" due to its narrow width and frequent congestion.^[12][13] The VFR corridor ends abruptly at the northern tip of Roosevelt Island. Aircraft must receive an air traffic control clearance to proceed beyond the boundaries of the corridor, or else make a sharp U-turn and return the way they came. Lidle's plane flew north along the corridor almost to the end before executing a turn and hitting the north face of the building along the river.^[13]

In an interview Lidle gave about a month earlier, he stated he had been a pilot for 7 months and had flown about 95 solo hours.^[14]

The airplane struck the floor numbered 40th (actually 30 flights of stairs above the street^[15]) of the Belaire building at 524 East 72nd Street. The Belaire is a 50-story condominium tower containing 183 apartments,^[16] as well as a health club, garage and pool.^[17][18]

[edit] Crash into the building

The plane hit the 30th-floor apartment numbered 40ABG, owned by Dr. Parviz Benhuri and his wife Ilana,^[19] the latter of whom was seated in the room the plane entered and who sustained shrapnel injuries and burns. Her housekeeper was also present and helped her escape.^[20] The plane also hit Kathleen Caronna's apartment. Caronna was not there at the time, although was en route.^[21] Among the other residents of the mixed-use high-rise is novelist Carol Higgins Clark, a resident on the 38th floor, who was interviewed by CBS Radio after she arrived at the building shortly after the crash. Then-New York Mets third-base coach Manny Acta also lives in the building, though he was away when the accident occurred.^[22]

Location of plane crash on New York City's Upper East Side.

The Belaire has guest facilities for family members of patients at the Hospital for Special Surgery, to which it is connected via a causeway on the third floor. Hospital spokeswoman Phyllis Fisher reported that no patients were in the high-rise building and operations at the hospital across the street were not affected.^[23]

WNBC-TV reported that the aircraft had departed from Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, at 2:29 pm local time (18:29 UTC). According to multiple reports, Lidle planned on flying to Tennessee, where he had a hotel room booked for the night, then to Dallas, Texas and finally on to his home in California.^[1][24][25] There was no indication that the aircraft's Ballistic Recovery Systems emergency parachute, designed to bring the small plane down safely, was deployed.^[26] New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said the plane circled the Statue of Liberty before flying north up the East River and disappearing from radar near the Queensboro Bridge. The FAA confirmed that the plane was flying under visual flight rules (VFR) and had attracted no special attention from air traffic controllers or NORAD before the crash. The aircraft took a hard right-angled turn before it hit the building.^[27]

[edit] Reactions to the crash

East-facing view of smoke from the building (right) shortly before the fire following the crash was extinguished.

The crash garnered extra attention because of superficial similarities to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City. U.S. officials said that NORAD scrambled fighter aircraft over numerous American and Canadian cities,^[28] including Ottawa from CFB Bagotville, for Combat Air Patrol, and that U.S. President George W. Bush was informed about the situation, but that these were precautionary measures only.^[27] The FBI quickly announced there was no reason to suspect that the crash was an act of terrorism.^[29]

News of the crash caused a momentary 0.4% drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) before the market decided the incident did not have financial implications. The Dow regained its prior level 20 minutes later.^[30]

LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport did not experience delays from the crash. Police cordoned off a several block area at the peak of the confusion, but subway and ferry services continued without interruption.

The FAA initially imposed a temporary flight restriction on an area within one nautical mile (1.9 km) of the scene, from ground level to 1,500 feet (457 m) altitude. This restriction, routine for emergency scenes, was lifted the next day.^[31] New York Governor George Pataki called for permanent restrictions.^[13]

On October 13, 2006, two days after the crash, the FAA banned all fixed-winged aircraft from the East River corridor unless in contact with local air traffic control. The new rule, which took effect immediately, required all small aircraft (with the exception of helicopters and certain seaplanes) to seek the approval of and stay in contact with air traffic control while in the corridor.^{[citation needed]} The FAA cited safety concerns, especially unpredictable winds from between buildings, as the reason for the change.^[11]

[edit] NTSB investigation

On October 11, the National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a six member "Go Team" from Washington, D.C. to New York City,^[32] which arrived at the scene in the evening to take fuel samples and examine clues found in the debris. These included the aircraft's bent propeller, a charred memory chip, the undeployed parachute,^[33] and Lidle's flight log book.^[34] The NTSB accident number is DCA07MA003.^[35]

[edit] Results

Consistent with the 3 November 2006 preliminary report, the NTSB's May 1, 2007 final hearing determined that "pilot error" caused the plane crash that killed Lidle and his flight instructor Tyler Stanger. The investigation was unable to determine which person was at the controls. The aircraft had only about 1,700 feet (520 m) of width in which to make the 180-degree turn, but this distance was effectively reduced to 1,300 feet (400 m) by the 13-knot (24 km/h) easterly winds that day. A bank angle of at least 53 degrees was required at turn initiation to successfully execute a 180-degree turn in this distance, which did not occur. As the turn progressed, the bank angle would have needed to have been increased, possibly resulting in a stall, but the investigation was unable to determine if the plane was in this condition at the time of the crash. An animation of the flight path combining radar data with a Coast Guard video of the East River was also presented.^{[36][37][38][10]}

[edit] See also

• 2006 in aviation
• September 11, 2001 attacks
• 2002 Pirelli Tower plane crash

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

Wikinews has related news:

Small aircraft crashes into building in New York City

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

October 11, 2006 New York City plane crash

• "Small aircraft hits building in Manhattan" (The New York Times)
• "Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle killed in UES plane crash" (WABC-TV)
• "Aircraft crashes into NYC building" (MSNBC)
• "Airplane crashes into Manhattan high-rise" (CNN)
• "Yankee's Lidle killed in plane crash" (TSN)
• "U.S. Stocks Extend Drop on Report of Small Plane Crash in N.Y." (Bloomberg)
• "Treasuries briefly pare losses on plane crash report" (Reuters)
• NTSB Preliminary Brief

[edit] External links

• (French) Analysis at Journal des accidents et des catastrophes
• N929CD profile with photos
• report from FDNY Communications Center on handling the crash, from 9-1-1 Magazine.