Developing: Plane Crash in Austin Texas

Details are somewhat sketchy at the moment, but a small plane apparently crashed into an office building in Austin, Texas. No word on casualties, but the building was badly damaged and several people were taken to the hospital.

Fox News is streaming video of the building and rescue efforts. They also report that an NTSB official says that the pilot may have set fire to his home before getting in his plane. Fox also reports that they're investigating this as an intentional act.

An NTSB official told Fox News that they are investigating this as an intentional act, and said it appears the pilot set his own house on fire and then got in his plane and flew it into the building. An NTSB spokesman, however, told FoxNews.com that "we can't confirm any of that."

An Internal Revenue Service office is located inside the building.

IRS Agent William Winnie said he was on the third floor of the building when he saw a light-colored, single engine plane coming towards the building, TheStatesman.com reported.

If the IRS has offices in the building, they aren't listed on the IRS website, which indicates that they are located at 825 East Rundberg Lane.  It appears that the office building hit by the plane includes certain back office operations for the IRS:.

The Internal Revenue Service has offices in the building, including its civil enforcement and criminal investigations divisions, said Special Agent Michael Lemoine, a spokesman for the criminal investigations division.

He said that some IRS offices are on the first floor, which Lemoine said was hit by the plane.

He said that the criminal investigations division personnel are safe and accounted for. He did not have information on the civil division workers, who conduct audits and other activity at the offices

The FBI website indicates that they have offices in the building (though I've seen that disputed elsewhere - they're apparently in an adjacent building (with the same address?).

UPDATE:
It looks like this was an intentional crash, but not necessarily terrorism related, even as the US military scrambled F-16 planes as a precaution following the crash.

As this is a developing situation, motives aren't clear, let alone the identities of those involved.

UPDATE:
The pilot has been identified as Joseph Andrew Stack:

A statement released by the U.S. Department of Homeland security earlier said there was no connection to terrorism or criminal behavior -- but changed its statement shortly before 1 p.m. to declare the act criminal.

Joseph Andrew Stack set an explosion that engulfed his house in flames at 9:15, then went to Georgetown Airport about three minutes from Auston, where he hopped the single-engine plane and then crashed it, Marilyn Ryan of CNN reported.

The building is next to the headquarters of the FBI's Austin Field Office.

A neighbor reportedly rescued Stack's wife and daughter.

UPDATE:
This is being proffered as his manifesto, and it clearly has an anti-government and anti-religious bent to it; the writer clearly has issues with the IRS treating his income in a way he thought cost him tens of thousands of dollars over the years and had apparently gone through an audit relating to his wife's undocumented income that his CPA knew about but didn't report.

UPDATE:
Joe Stack apparently was a keyboardist in this band - what now appears to be all too appropriately named Last Straw, and the album named Over the Edge.

UPDATE:
Stack apparently stole the plane. That would explain the military scrambling jets to intercept.

UPDATE:
Authorities now believe that he owned the plane, so the prior posting was incorrect. It also appears that he lived in a rather upscale area of Austin, which belies his claims that the IRS ruined him (though for all we know, he was at the end of his financial rope).

UPDATE:
It's amazing that more people weren't killed or injured, but Stark's actions still resulted in 12 injured, several seriously, and one person was missing.

Hudson River Air Collision Renews Calls For Increased Regulation

The air collision between a tourist helicopter and a private plane killing nine people has once again sparked a debate over the regulation of low flying aircraft in and around New York City.

The last time this debate occurred was in the aftermath of the death of Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle whose plane crashed into a high rise apartment building, killing Lidle and his instructor.

This crash occurred over the Hudson River near Hoboken, and nine people were killed in all. Seven people have so far been recovered from the waters of the Hudson River, and the NYPD and emergency personnel continue searching the murky waters for the other two victims, along with the Piper Cub airplane. The helicopter was recovered yesterday, and it's hoped that the aircraft can give clues as to why the crash occurred.

Many in the industry and critics content that this was an accident waiting to happen. They're right as the air above the Hudson is a heavily trafficked corridor for tour operators flying tourists around New York Harbor to see the sights, including the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero.

Normally, aircraft flying below 1,100 feet are not required to make contact with New York regional air traffic controllers, and it's possible that this crash may require additional regulation of aircraft flying in the area.

"We're playing a game of Russian roulette . . . There are 25,000 helicopter trips a year, and no one has to talk to anyone," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

He said that at the very least, pilots should be required to use the frequency and also talk to air-traffic controllers, regardless of their altitude.

Small planes and helicopters also should be required to have traffic collision avoidance systems, or TCAS, which notify pilots of approaching aircraft, Stringer said. They cost from $10,000 to $30,000 apiece.

The Hudson, which is less than three-quarters of a mile wide, serves as an air highway for helicopters, police patrols and small planes.

"That's not a lot of space," said Ray Adams, president of the air-traffic controllers union at Newark Airport. "And it's not unusual at all for us to have 10 to 20 aircraft between the George Washington Bridge and the Statue of Liberty."

Pilots can fly over the Hudson without permission if they stay below 1,100 feet so they don't interfere with jets flying to and from the city's three major airports.

But Dan Rose, a lawyer and pilot who has flown the Hudson, said helicopters should be separated from fixed-wing aircraft to avoid a repeat of Saturday's disaster.

Helicopters should be limited to 500 feet and fixed-wing craft to 1,100, he said.

It's a good idea for someone to manage the airspace, but the air traffic controllers in the region are already overtaxed with the commercial aircraft flying into the three major regional airports - and whose aircraft routinely fly over or near the Hudson at a much higher level.

In addition to the eminently sensible idea of separating fixed wing and helicopter flights by altitude, they should probably institute a corridor on each side of the Hudson to account for North- and South-bound traffic. This way, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft are segregated and the flow managed in a better way, improving safety on the ground and in the air.

The problem is that we still don't know the precise reason why the Piper Cub was in this particular airspace and why there was no communication between the helicopter and the plane.

UPDATE:
Reports indicate that the Piper Cub may have been located under the Hudson River.

UPDATE:

 

The photo shows ongoing efforts by a Coast Guard ship and a NYPD boat in the vicinity of where the plane and helicopter crashed. It was taken from Battery Park City using my Canon Rebel XTi with the Tamron 28-300mm XR Di VC (image stabilizer).

Developing: Plane/Helicopter Crash In Hudson River

This is a developing story, where a plane and a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River.

A helicopter went down in the Hudson River Saturday.

The aircraft entered the water near 14th Street. The Fire Department responded to the scene.

Initial reports say the helicopter collided with a small plane.

There was no word of injuries or survivors.

Multiple casualties are reported.

The two aircraft crashed Hoboken, N.J., just before noon, with wreckage falling into the water and on land on the New Jersey side, witnesses said.

It is unclear how many passengers were involved. Witnesses said the small plane was a Cessna.

Witnesses said one victim was already pulled out of the water and taken to Pier 40.

The plane took off from Teeterboro airport, and soon reported engine failure. It then hit a helicopter over the river.

The helicopter was a member of the Liberty Tours fleet and offered flights to tourists, according to CNN.

UPDATE:
At least 6 people were on board the Liberty Tours helicopter, which operates out of the 34th Street Heliport. The collision took place around 14th Street, but because the current pushes South, the searches are now moving towards Lower Manhattan. FDNY, NYPD and Coast Guard are on the scene attempting to locate anyone from on board the craft.

This particular corridor is heavily trafficked with helicopters on various tours, with an emphasis on Ground Zero, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty.