1) ae Y Yankees Pitcher Killed in Plane Crash Stephanie Smith, OP Sports Editor y Lidle, a starting pitcher with the New York Yankees, was td along with his flight instructor yesterday afternoon bn his single-engine plane smashed into a Manhattan high- Lidle’s love of flying was never a kept a secret. He always that it was his escape from the stress of professional ball. “No matter what’s going on in your life, when you up in that plane, everything’s gone,” Lidle told an inter- yer. with Comcast Sportsnet out of Philadelphia while fly- his plane in April. idle boarded that same single-engine plane Wednesday noon with an instructor for what was supposed to be a rely flight around New York City. They took off from a Wy Jersey airport, circled around the Statue of Liberty, flew lower Manhattan and north above the East River. wever something went wrong just moments after passing ve the 59th Street Bridge. The small plane smashed into a ry high-rise condo building on the Upper East Side, g Lidle and the instructor and showering the street below flaming wreckage. he crash briefly raised fears of another terrorist attack in scared city. “It was very scary,” said Diane Tarantini, who sitting in an outdoor courtyard across the street when she d the crash and saw a big fireball high up that reminded of 9/11. “It brings back all these memories about planes ng buildings, the terror of that day in September.” he plane came through a hazy, cloudy sky and slammed apartments that were 30 and 31 flights above the street. crash began a huge fire that cast a pillar of black smoke the city and sent flames shooting from four windows on adjoining floors. Fire fighters put the blaze out in less an hour. At least 21 people were taken to hospitals, most hem fire fighters. Their conditions were not disclosed. HL injuries Stephanie Smith, OP Sports Editor . eek into the season and already the NHL is suffering. y teams are starting to run a bit thin in places, with: ries running rampant through the lines. The Vancouver ucks are going to be without defenseman Sami Salo for a t time, as he injured his groin in a recent game against the nesota Wild. Not to mention Mare Chouinard and Ryan ler will be out for a few days still as well. he Toronto Maple Leafs blue line is also thinning out kly. With Brendan Bell out with bruised ligaments in his , Carlo Colaiacovo still feeling the aftershocks of a con- hion sustained last season, Staffan Kronwall nursing a ined ankle, Andy Wozniewski out with a separated shoul- and Pavel Kubina our for 20 games with a sprained MCL, bne want to spare some defence? he Carolina Hurricanes are also feeling the effects of ries. They have had a poor start to their season, which have something to do with the fact that they are without defenseman Frantisek Kaberle and left winger Cory an. Same can be said of the Chicago Blackhawks who rying to get by without Tuomo Ruutu and Patrick Lalime. that Lalime would make much of a difference, but it’s worth mentioning that he is yet again injured. he Pittsburgh Penguins are also in a spot of trouble, As e right now, Sindey Crosby is out for a few games, as as Evgeni Malkin. Their top young forwards do make a prence, and it will be interesting to see how the team plays out the help of the great Sidney. unny that this early in the season there would be so many es, but I suppose it is better than late in the season when hrts to matter the most. Or even in the playoffs when an y to a player can cost as much as the Stanley Cup itself. ret well soon little hockey men. Get well soon. sports@aqmail.com Cory Lidle’s passport was found on the street, according to a federal official. It was not immediately clear who was at the con- trols or who was the second person aboard the plane. There was no official confirma- tion of Lidle’s death from city officials, who still needed to identify the bodies. A federal official, requesting anonymity, had said that authorities had a report that the plane sent a distress call to the Federal Aviation Administration before the crash. But National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman stated at a late- night news conference: “We’ve asked the FAA, and they have reviewed some aircraft- control tapes. At this point, they have no indication that there was a mayday call.” The flight lasted about 20 minutes and a 911 call about a fire came in around 2:45 p.m. Hersman said debris was scattered everywhere at the crash scene. Investigators also obtained the pilot’s log book. The aircraft was manufactured in 2002 and purchased ear- lier this year, Debbie Hersman said. The plane was apparently equipped with a parachute designed to let it float to Earth in case of a mishap. The parachute however, did not engage after the crash. FAA records showed that the plane was regis- tered to Lidle, who had repeatedly assured reporters in recent weeks that flying was safe and that the Yankees—who were traumatized in 1979 when catcher Thurman Munson was killed in the crash of a plane he was piloting—had no reason to worry. : A-Plenty all Lidle’s Yankee team-mates were stunned. “Right now, I am really in a state of shock,” Jason Giambi said in a statement. “T have known Cory and his wife Melanie for over 18 years and watched his son grow up. We played high school ball together and have remained close throughout our careers. We were excited to be reunited in New York this year and I am just devastated to hear this news.” : On Sunday, the day after the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs, Lidle cleaned out his locker at Yankee Stadium and stated that he planned to fly back to California, making a few stops along the way.