US blames Yankee, friend for crash into NY building

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor were blamed today for flying Lidle's small plane into a 50-story New York City building in October, killing them both.

The National Transportation Safety Board never determined who was at the controls of the single-engine Cirrus SR 20 before it slammed into the Manhattan residential tower.

The crash raised alarming questions about aviation security five years after the September. 11 hijacked plane attacks on the World Trade Center that killed nearly 3,000 people. ''It was a plane going into a building. It brought back a lot of fears from 9/11,'' said safety board member Deborah Hersman.

The aircraft had no flight recorder or other cockpit technology that would have assisted investigators. No mechanical problems with the aircraft were found.

The board in its final report placed high importance on Lidle's inexperience as well as the pair's airmanship, questionable decision-making and inadequate preparation.

''The pilots placed themselves in a pre carious situation that could have been prevented by better judgment and planning,'' said Mark Rosenker, the safety board's chairman.

Radar images and other data released soon after the October. 11 crash showed the two may not have been familiar with critical performance aspects of Lidle's newly acquired aircraft. They were clearly unfamiliar with the sight-seeing course they chose as well as the practices commonly used by aviators flying that route, the safety board found.

The two were not required to file a flight plan before leaving Teterboro, New Jersey, or maintain radio contact with air controllers for navigating around Manhattan and north along the narrow East River corridor.

The plane lost altitude and crashed while trying to execute a tight turn off the river in stiff winds. Impact occurred at approximately 500 feet. Three people on the ground were hurt by falling debris.

The safety board said the pilots did not aggressively bank the plane throughout the turn nor did they use the full width of the river when starting the turn. Investigators said the two should have been aware of any need to compensate for winds as well as their position in relation to river.

Investigators said the two men had other options for safely exiting their river course -- even at the last minute. For instance, they could have climbed to a different altitude or requested a different flight path from controllers at nearby LaGuardia airport.

REUTERS SY RK2300