anyone seeing this on CNN...tell me how a plane gets close enough to buildings in NYC...even though it looks like an accidents doesnt really seem like its that difficult to fly into the city!

 

its looks like a murder-suicide. If you are in a plane you can pretty much goto and do pretty much whatever you want before defensive measure can be taken - especially small craft. reaction time is still pretty slow for scrambling other aircraft or prepping and sighting-in anti aircraft measures.

 

...and it could very well be an accident. It's not like planes don't fly over the city day in and day out. Mechanical trouble while over the city would easily force a plane to hit a building (99% chance they'll hit at least ONE on the way down).

The fire looks quite small, limited to mostly two floors, only a couple of windows in width. I imagine they'll come back with a small Cessna-style craft.

 

My girlfriend lives on 70th and York, the plane hit on 72nd and York!! I nearly crapped my pants!!

 

When ever you fly into LGA, you always come in right over the Hudson river parallel to Manhattan, in between NJ and NY.

 

let me edit my statement...how does an unidentified aircraft get that close to buildings in NYC...but apparantly there are rules that have been around since the 80s that make it fine for a plane to be in the location this plane was...apparantely you dont have to notify the ATC if you are under 1000 feet around the area by the river

 

I think you still have to contact ATC because LGA and JFK are with-in 5 miles from Manhattan.

 

news said ATC was not contacted and the person flying which is now known to be NY Yankees pitcher Corey Lidle (who was doing tricks in his plane with 3 other passengers) was flying under visible flight rules or something like that

 

He was within the flight bubble, so ATC would need to be contacted. The fact that he crossed into the airspace without ATC notification and no warning signs went off doesn't surprise me. He may have remained outside for a while, then inadvertantly flown into it while trying his new acrobatic tricks... just long enough to get into trouble. Stay out of the bubble and there's no need to contact the airport, but for safety reasons most pilots will graze the bubble and signal in just to make sure someone knows where they last were (in the event of trouble). Sounds like Corey was playing the role of dumbass.