What is this, another plane crash!! In tampa shortly before 5pm saturday (1-5-02) a non commerical plane crased about 15 stories below the roof of a down town Tampa skyscraper. That is all I have heard so far, but for me it is still still a little close for comfort.

 

A 15 year old student pilot nailed the thing, cant get a DL but can fly planes over heavily populated areas.

 

15 and soloing already??? Where the heck was the instructor?? Sheez!!,,,98

 

I heard it was an unauthorized take-off. If he was trying to hurt people, he missed it by one day. It's Saturday thank God.

 

I just read the latest on this. A 15 yr old student pilot took the plane w/o permission & although instructed to land immediately by a Coast Guard helicopter flying just feet away from the Cessana, the plane did not respond & instead hit at about the 20th floor of a Bank of America building, 40 stories high.
I won't even speculate as to how this kid was able to sneak into the plane & manage to take off but you'd think they would just about bolt planes down in the hangar's or on the field after the 9/11 tragedy! The irony here is sickening too - evidently this kid DID learn how to do takeoff's, unlike the other terrorist who just wanted to learn "how to fly straight"!
Maybe this kid was suicidal? Maybe he was trying to prove something? He could have done it as a lark - the reasons may never be known but the fact that it COULD happen is just as disturbing to me as what did happen. How many more buildings will be used as bullseyes before TRULY STRICT POLICIES are enforced? Dammit - take the props off the planes not being used if necessary or disable them some other way but this has GOT to be addressed!
Thanks for letting me rant - anytime I'm reminded of 9/11, I tend to get as upset as when it happened & this my friends was ALL too familiar for my tastes.

 

I ate lunch at The Tampa Club (which is on the top floor of that building) two weeks ago.

Thank goodness we didn't see the catastrophic destruction we saw in NY. What are these morons thinking?

 

Dammit - take the props off the planes not being used if necessary or disable them some other way but this has GOT to be addressed!


Im not willing to give up my freedoms, my liberty, my ability to have an airplane sitting in a hanger ready to fly if I so choose because some people, the minority in the world, try to scare me, intimidate me or make me cringe in my home afraid to go out. The only way to defeat terrorism is to live as Americans have always lived, fearless, hard and FREE!

Any politicians try to take that from me will hear about it wether I can make a difference or not.

Randy

 

Turns out this kid did have a death wish! From the latest reports, he left a note saying he was sympathetic to Bin Laden & probably thought this act would make a statement - he was right.
Randy - I agree w/you in principle. I wouldn't want my freedom impinged upon because of the acts of the terrorists. What concerns me though is if a KID could sneak in & essentially steal a plane, how easy is it to do? Evidently VERY easy! To have stricter security measures in place is a necessity as well as good business practice & most importantly, it's a way to safeguard innocent lives who are doing nothing worse than going on with life & trying to enjoy their freedom! I don't want us to cower in fear or turn this country into a police state but I would have no problem with temporarily giving up some of my freedoms while plans are put into practice to make sure this doesn't happen again. Then, after every possible safeguard is in place we can return to a more reasonable & relaxed way of life. All I know is I don't want other kids or even fanatics stealing planes & trying to make their OWN 9/11 statements in other cities. We've had more than we deserved already when they hit us on 9/11. I don't ever want to see that happen again - anywhere.

 

Giving up Freedoms is never temporary, once they are laid to the side more are taken in the name of "Security and betterment of life" This Country remains the best and most powerful COuntry due to its Freedoms. I will never relinquish any of my God given Freedoms in the name of anything at anytime.

 

That kinda came across abit harsh, no animosity meant toward ya Cowlady

 

You also have to keep in mind how little damage a light plane will do. A truck would do much greater damage and is much more readily available.

Let's not suggest that the wheels be taken off all cars and trucks when not in use!


I do agree that this act makes a statement. It tells me that there is the number of miguided, ignorant 18 year olds in the US has dropped by 1!

 

the way it sounded on the news the kid had a reason to be there. he was a student at the flight school, and had gone there to practice his preflight checks.
as far as locking down all planes like this one. if someone wanted one bad enough they could buy one and fly it off of any reasonably flat and fairly large field. this was just an act of stupidity, by a very misguided punk. as previously stated the only affect from it after the damage is repaired will be one less idiot in the world.
i did like the part about the fighters from the AFB being scrambled to catch up with him though. i don't think they got there in time but if they had, whew what a sight. look out your window and see 2 of those bad boys looking to take out your little cessna.

 

I think to keep this kind of thing from happening again we should lock up all the teen aged people. We already know they are idiots. We (I) know because we've (I've) been there done that!
I'm only kidding. It is kind of funny how this happenend with this kid makes the Bin-Laddin/Alkieda/Afgan, you know, 9-11, look really immature. It's like there is (Afganastan) a whole country of teen-age minded people.

Maybe what we should do with this kind of thing is to not give it air time! There seems to be so many idiots out there who want thier 15 min. of fame. We all sit there glued to the set giving them what they want.

Maybe before we restructure the country, so that we aren't shakin in our boots, we could figure out how to get a larger percentage of our population to learn how to use their head!

Yes, I believe that many of the changes needed to make our country a better, safer place, need to start with us, the people who make up the "population".

Well, thats just me......

Tom

 

I understand that to give up our freedom is scary & not what I want to see happen. I am not suggesting this at all.
When a kid is able to make off with a plane or a car or truck - well, there's a serious problem that can affect innocent people.
My suggestion that a plane (in this case) be made inoperable so this doesn't happen again was not intended to infringe on the rights of adults or responsible pilots. All I meant was that since every airport has a "fleet" of planes waiting for a lesson or to be taken out by licensed pilots, these planes shouldn't be so easy to take! Keep them behind locked gates or in hangars or install a seciruty system similar to the PATS in our trucks. Yes the planes should be available for qualified pilots/students! They just shouldn't be so accessible to someone who isn't supposed to be flying them. If this kid was doing pre flight checks, why wasn't an instructor or adult with him? Why was he able to make off with the plane? I realize a light plane isn't going to be as destructive as a jumbo jet BUT - what if even 1 person was killed in that building? Is 1 an acceptable # or is it higher than that? Had this kid hurt or killed anybody that would have been an unacceptable tragedy. What if he had hit a church during services? Or maybe a school full of kids or a mall crowded with shoppers? Luckily he was a "copy cat" & aimed at a "skyscraper" which happened to be empty. Perhaps his intention wasn't to kill innocent people but rather just make a statement - I can't say but I am thankful no innocent lives were lost by his action.
I just want this type of incident to be made more difficult in the future, not to take anyone's rights away.
Randy - don't worry - I took no offense & I hope you don't take any either. I guess way down deep I'm angry at this kid for wasting his OWN life - I think that's a tragedy as well.