Authorities confirmed that Corey Lidle, a pitcher for the New York Yankees, passed away yesterday afternoon after his plane crashed close to the 40th storey of a 50-story residential high-rise on the Upper East Side of New York.
After the crash, two bodies—including Lidle’s—were discovered on the ground. Lidle was thirty-four.
Lidle held a pilot’s license, and the aircraft was registered under his name. According to authorities, the aircraft was operating under visual flight rules and had not communicated with air traffic controllers until just before the incident, when it made a mayday call.
Both the condominium next door and the Belaire building caught fire as a result of the collision. By 4 p.m., fire officials had contained the fire.
About fifteen minutes before the disaster, at 2:30 p.m., the plane took off from Teterboro airport in New Jersey across the Hudson River, according to airport officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The scene is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
On July 31, Lidle was dealt by the Phillies to the Yankees. He pitched for the Pinstripes in 10 games, compiling a 5.13 ERA.
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