OK, I was being a smartass and insensitive

when I joked that Mr. Lidle had thought that last -- and losing -- game of the ALDS to Detroit was "a bad day."

In my defense -- until this morning -- and ONLY in the local NY Newspaper (NYTIMES)
has ANYONE said word one about the people in the apartment building who got burned out.

If this (mentioning the non-celebrity victims) is "too liberal," so be it.

October 12, 2006

Manhattan Plane Crash Kills Yankee Pitcher

By JAMES BARRON

A single-engine plane carrying the Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle smashed into a 42-story building on the Upper East Side yesterday, killing Mr. Lidle and his flight instructor, the authorities said.

The afternoon crash beneath overcast skies sent debris clattering hundreds of feet to the sidewalk and started a fire that destroyed several apartments and left a charred smudge on the face of the building.

Fourteen firefighters and four people in the building were injured, officials said, including a woman who had been in an apartment hit squarely by the plane and escaped the inferno, suffering burns.

The plane, owned by Mr. Lidle, was a Cirrus SR20, a four-seat propeller plane that is popular for its performance and sleek looks. It has a fixed landing gear reminiscent of a stunt plane. With two sets of controls, officials said, either Mr. Lidle or his instructor could have been flying it.

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