Tributes pour in for pitcher Lidle

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The world of baseball has been stunned by the tragic death of New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle who was killed when his light aircraft crashed into an apartment block in Manhattan on Wednesday.

"All of baseball is shocked and terribly saddened by the sudden and tragic passing of Cory Lidle," said MLB commissioner Bud Selig.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said the accident was a "terrible and shocking tragedy," while teammate Jason Giambi was "devastated" by the news.

Lidle, 34, was piloting the four-seat plane when it ploughed into a 52-story building in the up-market Upper East side.

The incident, which revived memories of the 9/11 attack, sparked a major security alert with fighter planes scrambled over major American cities.

Born in Hollywood, California, Lidle appeared last Saturday as a relief pitcher in the Yankees' final game of the season when they lost an American League playoff series to the Tigers in Detroit.

He began his Major League career began with subway rivals the New York Mets in 1997.

Lidle was traded to the Yankees this summer from the Philadelphia Phillies. His nine-year career record was 82 wins and 72 losses.

He held an 4.57 ERA and also played for Tampa Bay, Oakland, Toronto, and Cincinnati.

Lidle combined his baseball career with a well-publicized passion for flying. He earned his pilot's license and purchased the four-seat Cirrus SR 20 plane, with less than 400 hours of flight time, for $187,000.

In 1979, Yankees all-star catcher Thurman Munson died at age 32 when a plane he was piloting crashed at Akron-Canton Regional Airport in Ohio while he practiced takeoffs and landings.

But Lidle told the New York Times in an interview last month that Yankees fans should not worry he would suffer the same fate, insisting his plane was safe.

Sadly his confidence has proved mistaken, leaving the team-mates and officials to digest the news.

"This is a terrible and shocking tragedy that has stunned the entire Yankees organization," Steinbrenner said in his statement.

"I offer my deep condolences and prayers to his wife Melanie and son Christopher on their enormous loss."

"This is a terrible shock," said manager Joe Torre said. "I was with (coaches) Ron Guidry and Lee Mazzilli when I heard the news and we were just stunned. Cory's time with the Yankees was short, but he was a good teammate and a great competitor. My heart goes out to his family."

Lidle played in high school with Giambi, and they were teammates in Oakland. They were reunited this season with the Yankees.

"Right now, I am really in a state of shock, as I am sure the entire MLB family is," Giambi said in a statement.

"My thoughts are with Cory's relatives and the loved ones of the others who were injured or killed in this plane crash. I have known Cory and his wife, Melanie, for over 18 years and watched his son grow up.

"We played high school ball together and have remained close throughout our careers. We were excited to be reunited in New York this year and I am just devastated to hear this news," he said.

NEW YORK Oct 13, 2006 (AP)— Cory Lidle's beneficiaries could lose out on a $1.5 million benefit from baseball's benefit plan if it's determined he was piloting his plane when it crashed into a Manhattan high-rise.

While Lidle wasn't a member of the Major League Baseball Players Association licensing plan because he was a replacement player during the 1994-95 strike, the New York Yankees pitcher was covered by the union's benefit plan.

The plan calls for a $450,000 life insurance benefit and has an accidental death benefit of $1.05 million. However, the plan which applies to all big leaguers contains an exclusion for "any incident related to travel in an aircraft … while acting in any capacity other than as a passenger."

Lidle and his flight instructor, Tyler Stanger, were killed Wednesday when Lidle's four-seat Cirrus SR20 crashed into a building on the Upper East Side. While Lidle was the registered owner of the aircraft, it has not been confirmed who was at the controls.

Lidle is survived by his wife, Melanie, and 6-year-old son, Christopher. The person he designated as his beneficiary was not immediately known. In addition, Lidle's wife is entitled to a widow's benefit under baseball's plan.

Lidle had 9 years, 100 days of major league service 72 days shy of being fully vested. Because of that, his wife would be entitled to $166,250 annually, which is 95 percent of the $175,000 maximum, an amount indexed for inflation. There is an additional $200 monthly dependent benefit added to the payments as long as the son is unmarried and until he is 19 or 23 if he is a full-time student.

Lidle had just completed a $6.3 million, two-year contract he signed with Philadelphia before the 2005 season.

Associated Press

Lidle's Plane May Have Stalled Before Crash, U.S. Board Says

Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle's plane may have stalled before it crashed because of a sharp turn possibly needed to avoid buildings, U.S. investigators said.

The Cirrus Design SR-20 plane, cruising above New York's East River on Oct. 11, had 2,100 feet to make a 180-degree turn if the river's full width was used, the National Transportation Safety Board said today in an update of its investigation.

The plane had only 1,700 feet because the turn began mid- river, and wind drift narrowed the margin to 1,300 feet, the board said. The aircraft would have needed a 53-degree bank angle to make the turn with that margin, the NTSB said.

If the plane initially didn't turn sharply enough, the pilot would have needed an even sharper angle as the turn progressed, ``which would have placed the airplane dangerously close to an aerodynamic stall,'' the board said.

The SR-20 crashed into the 50-story Belaire luxury apartment building on Manhattan's Upper East Side, killing Lidle and his pilot trainer, Tyler Stanger. The NTSB hasn't yet determined whether Lidle or Stanger was piloting the plane, board spokesman Keith Holloway said. The Washington-based board also has yet to decide on a probable cause.