Plane hits New York building

A small aircraft owned by a baseball star has crashed into a New York residential building, killing four.New York police confirmed four people were dead and that the plane belonged to New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, with reports claiming the athelete was the pilot and had been killed.New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg would only confirm that a flight instructor and student pilot had been killed along with two residents of the tower block.Emergency services said the building and those next to it had been evacuated and at least seven people had been injured, including two firefighters.The plane smashed into the Belaire apartment block on Manhattan's Upper East Side, but officials said there was no evidence it was terrorism-related.New York City Police Chief Michael Collins said: "We have no reason to believe at this point that it is terrorist related, and our [alert] level remains the same."Burning debris fell on the streets below as firefighters shot streams of water at the flames from lower floors.A Fire Department spokesperson said the aircraft struck the 20th floor.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was too early to determine what type of aircraft was involved, or what might have caused the crash.The crash occurred at East 72nd Street and York Avenue, near the East River.The images of fire and smoke pouring out of the windows of a high rise building evoked images of the hijack plane attacks of September 11, 2001.

ITN | October 11, 2006

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