ESPN reporting that his private plane hit a building in NYC.


ESPN.com - MLB - Lidle dies as plane crashes into Manhattan high-rise

Yeah...I just saw that...seems kind of ironic, or...?

That's just horrible.

What's even worse is that his identity got out before his family could be notified. Or, at least, it appears that way.

Lidle was a Jay for a season a few years back. He seemed like a nice guy.

Well known or not, no family deserves to hear about a loved one's passing through the media.

Only a few miles from the World Trade Centers too. I'm sure a lot in the area thought it was happening all over again. I wonder what the approx 170 firefighters who responded were thinking at the time? Brave, brave men and women.

It was a tragic accident while everyone on the Yankees and some other teams he played for (Oakland A's) were in shock. I feel sorry for his family and wife of ten years.

I heard that his passenger was a flight instructor. This is a very strange accident. The plane must have been incapable of climbing due to engine trouble. Otherwise, there is no way you would fly in the fog in the city at such a low altitude with a full tank of gas.

If you don't run into a structure, those little planes are amazingly safe. You can them anywhere, and now you can even just pull the parachute if you get in trouble. I don't think that NY City is a good place to fly your personal plane.

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"I’ll just say this: We’re not talking to teams about their second- or third-best players." Joe Dumars talking about his plan to get other teams' 4th best players.

Out here they reported that his wife and son were on commercial flight to LA about the same time as the accident and yes the rest of the family found out on TV and then had to give the news to his wife when she landed at the airport. He was supposed to fly that smaller plane across country later.

The Irony is that NewYorkers thought this was a 9/11 situation on 10/11 and some thought this was the first of many planes that were going to crash.

The story got all the needed attention and a the ALCS showed their respect with a moment of silence and a prayer. Not to take anything away form Lidle and his family, but just think of the media frenzy if this had been Jeter, ARod or even Torre on that flight instead.

Wow, a very sobering followup story on this at espn.com. It really takes the ballplayer out of it and puts things into perspective.

ESPN.com - MLB - Schwarz: A truly sickening feeling

I saw the video of the crash that they had on cnn. It really didn't look that foggy. He could definately see the building coming, which means that the plane probably couldn't steer. They also say that the parachute was deployed and was on the ground, but didn't work properly.

That must have really been frustrating for him.