http://ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2006/061103.htm
UPDATE ON CIRRUS PLANE CRASH IN MANHATTAN, NEW YORK


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The National Transportation Safety Board today released the following
update on its investigation into the accident involving a Cirrus
Design SR-20 N929CD that crashed into an apartment building while
maneuvering above Manhattan, New York on October 11, 2006.
The accident occurred about 2:42 pm eastern daylight time. The
airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire. The
certificated private pilot owner of the airplane, New York Yankees
pitcher Cory Lidle, and a certified flight instructor were fatally
injured. Marginal Visual Flight rules conditions prevailed, and no
flight plan was filed for the flight that departed Teterboro Airport
(TEB), Teterboro, New Jersey. The personal sightseeing flight was
conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part
91. There were 1 severe and 2 minor injuries on the ground.

The Safety Board go-team was composed of four teams: Airworthiness,
Powerplants, Operations, and Witnesses. The Weather, Air Traffic
Control and Aircraft Performance group chairmen gathered data from
NTSB headquarters. Parties to the investigation are Cirrus Design,
Federal Aviation Administration, Teledyne Continental Motors, and
Ballistic Recovery System.

The on-scene examination of the wreckage has shown that there was no
sign of an in-flight fire or damage to the airplane. The airplane
impacted the 30th floor of the apartment building, bounced off, then
fell to the street below, where it came to rest inverted and was
engulfed in a severe post crash fire. The engine was ejected from the
airplane and entered the building through an apartment window on the
30th floor.

The New York Central Park Automated Observation System reported that
at the time of the accident, that the winds were from 060 degrees at 6
knots, visibility at 7 statute miles, ceiling overcast at 1800 feet
above ground level, the temperature was 17 degrees Celsius, the
dewpoint was 13 degrees Celsius and the altimeter was 29.90 inches of
Mercury (Hg). No visibility restrictions were reported at any of the
surrounding airport weather stations. An aircraft that was landing at
Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) at the time of the
accident was equipped with a weather reporting capability that
indicated that the winds at 700 feet altitude were from 095 degrees at
13 knots.

Over fifty witnesses to the accident were identified and many
interview summaries were obtained from the New York Police Department.
Eleven of those witnesses saw the airplane before it impacted the
building.

Radar data indicate that the airplane was flying over the east side of
Roosevelt Island prior to initiating a 180 degree turn. At this
location, there would have been a maximum of 2100 feet clearance from
buildings, if the full width of the river had been used. However, from
the airplane's mid-river position over Roosevelt Island, the available
turning width was only 1700 feet. The prevailing wind from the east
would have caused the airplane to drift 400 feet toward the building
during the turn, reducing the available turning width to about 1300
feet. At an airspeed of 97 knots, this turn would have required a
constant bank angle of 53 degrees and a loading of 1.7 Gs on the
airplane. If the initial portion of the turn was not this aggressive,
a sufficiently greater bank angle would have been needed as the turn
progressed, which would have placed the airplane dangerously close to
an aerodynamic stall.

Since the accident, The FAA issued a Notice to Airman prohibiting
fixed wing aircraft such as the accident flight from operating in the
East River Class B Exclusion area where the accident occurred unless
authorized and controlled by ATC. This will prevent pilots from
encountering a situation in which they must attempt a complete u turn
in order to avoid entry into controlled airspace.

Maintenance records for the accident airplane indicated that all
Airworthiness Directives and Service Bulletins had been complied with.
The propeller and engine have been examined by Safety Board
investigators at their respective manufacturers and they indicated
that they were operating normally.

Additional work continues in the investigation. Two damaged portable
GPS units were recovered from the wreckage and sent to the
manufacturer to try to recover additional data. The memory chip
associated with the airplane's Multifunctional Display was retrieved
and sent to NTSB headquarters to try to recover any stored data. A
damaged laptop computer that was found in the wreckage and may contain
flight log information, is being examined at NTSB headquarters.
Several cockpit instruments are being examined in the Safety Board
laboratories, and work is underway to enhance a video obtained from
the Coast Guard that shows the airplane's impact with the building.

A graphic depicting radar tracks from several local radar facilities
may be found at the following link on the Board's website:
http://ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2006/N929CD...rn_3radars.pdf




Media Contact: Keith Holloway, 202-314-6100