SKYSCRAPER CRASH IN MILAN ITALY

Fownews

[Bommer]

Just reported that a small engine plane crashed into a Skyscraper in Milan Italy

[aristeides]

Spiegel article confirms there are witness reports of several explosions in the building: "Augenzeugen berichteten, in den oberen Stockwerken sei es zu mehreren Explosionen gekommen. "

[DJ88]

Yes, MSNBC was just talking about that...

[areafiftyone]

2 Die As Plane Hits Milan Skyscraper

MILAN, Italy –– A small plane with only the pilot on board crashed Thursday into a 30-story landmark skyscraper that houses the regional government offices. Two people were reported dead.

Smoke poured out of the building in downtown Milan but firefighters quickly put out the flames. Rescuers helped bloodied men in business suits.

The pilot of the Piper aircraft, en route from Switzerland, had sent out a distress call at 5:54 p.m. just before the crash near Milan's main train station, said police officer Celerissimo De Simone. RAI state TV reported that the pilot said the SOS was because of engine trouble.

"We believe it isn't a terrorist attack," said police Sgt. Vincenzo Curto, who was reached at the Carabinieri headquarters in Milan. "The pilot might have taken ill or it was an engine problem."

The rest of the updated Washington Post here: 2 Die As Plane Hits Milan Skyscraper

[VRWC_minion]

Oh my. My tinfoil hat just got tighter

See link toOn line simulator program for "IFRfun flying the Rockwell Aero Commander 685 in Italy"

[Maitre_Z]

Sorry, but the main points were the pilots name and age. 55 is just not that old - so that may discount the heart attack theories.

It also indicated that he got clearance for an emergency landing, then deviated from that course at the last minute and hit the building.

[ruoflaw]

Which one? If it was the shot that started WW1, it happened on June 28th.

[Cold Heat]

Don't take anything too serious Mol. This thread has more entetainment value than anything else.

[cyphergirl]

Nah... "The Bin Ladins" ... sequal to the hit show "The Osbournes"

*snicker*

[Born in a Rage]

I think I remember it being reported that the September 11th terrorists bought extra tickets for the flights they took in order to have less people aboard the planes...

[MJM59]

Nah, if you want to generate terror in Italy. You fly a plane into the Ferarri Formula One team's HQ.

[Semper Paratus]

It also indicated that he got clearance for an emergency landing, then deviated from that course at the last minute and hit the building.

If that's true then its possible a hijacker had him make the SOS then took over.

[callisto]

"the pilot radioed the tower with engine and landing gear problems"

Tallest building
Financial district
Straight on hit into a high floor

Well this guy should have played the lottery. Each new newsbyte adds another incredible probability to the idea that this was not an accident. Some luck.

[Travis McGee]

JFK might have been hit by an accidental stray shot too.

It's not impossible.

[mommadooo3]

Thanks for the replies. I'll be keeping 'quiet' for now. And keep reading. Our house is cableless, due to the fact that the ONLY cable system here is Time-Warner. (barf)

[codebreaker]

Footage of choppers landing and rescure personnel taking victims out of the building on CNN.

[widgysoft]

what the hell was he doing at that altitude anyway?

[mikegi]

Was the pilot 55 or 75??? If 75, why was he piloting a passenger plane? Is there an age limit for AA or Delta?

[aristeides]

St. Vitus Day, the Serbs' Vidovdan, a most provocative date for the Austrian government to schedule a visit by the heir apparent to the Austrian throne to the capital of Bosnia, despite urgent warnings of danger from the Serbian ambassador. That -- combined with the highly suspicious movements of Franz Ferdinand's entourage in Sarajevo that day -- makes me very much suspect that some people in the Austrian government wanted Franz Ferdinand assassinated.

[r9etb]

What's this .. where did you hear this ..

The Aero Commander pictured above is a NASA plane, and as such is designed to carry scientists and their gear.