Aircraft Intentionally Flown Into IRS Building

Steyr

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/18/texas.plane.crash/index.html?hpt=T1

Plane crashes into building in Austin,
Texas
February 18, 2010 1:58 p.m. EST


(CNN) -- The latest news as it comes in to CNN from the scene of the crash of a small plane in Austin, Texas. (All times are ET, one hour ahead of local Austin time.)

1:47 p.m.: A message on a Web site registered to Stack appears to be a suicide note: "If you're reading this, you're no doubt asking yourself, 'Why did this have to happen?'" the message says. "The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time." In the long message, the writer rails against the government and, particularly, the Internal Revenue Service.

1:43 p.m. A federal law enforcement official confirmed the name Joseph Andrew Stack and said he owned a house that was burned Thursday. Asked whether Stack set the fire, the official replied, "It appears that way."

1:40 p.m. The official said the plane was a Piper and that officials believe Stack owned it. Initially there was confusion that the plane was stolen, but the official said that officials no longer believe that is true. Asked whether it was suicide, the official said "it looks like it."

1:19 p.m.: FAA officials tell CNN the plane was a Piper Cherokee PA-28. Earlier reports of the plane's make were incorrect.

1:18 p.m.: A federal law enforcement official told CNN that they believed the plane belonged to Stack.

1:03 p.m.: Department of Homeland security spokesman Matt Chandler revises an earlier statement, saying there is "no reason to believe there is a nexus to terrorist activity." He had said there was, as of that time, no indication of criminal activity, either.

12:49 p.m.: The Internal Revenue Service in Dallas, Texas, told CNN that the building is a federal IRS outsourced building. It said 199 of its employees work there. The IRS said it thinks all employees are accounted for, but they are checking.

12:40 p.m.: Federal officials said two F-16 fighter jets were launched as a precaution after the crash, though terrorist intent was not indicated.

12:32 p.m.: The FAA said the plane departed Georgetown Municipal Airport, north of Austin, about 9:40 a.m., and that the pilot did not file a flight plan.

12:18 p.m.: Witnesses described an infernal scene that shook nearby buildings and sent fire and smoke bellowing into the sky. "I just saw smoke and flames," said CNN iReporter Mike Ernest. "I could not believe what I was seeing. It was just smoke and flames everywhere."

12:11 p.m.: Harry Evans of the Austin Fire Department said firefighters found "heavy fire destruction in and around the second floor ... lots of heat, lots of smoke, lots of fire."

12:05 p.m.: Two people were transported from the crash site to University Medical Center Brackenridge, said hospital spokeswoman Matilda Sanchez. She could not provide additional information. University Medical Center Brackenridge is the only Level 1 trauma center for adults in Austin.

12:03 p.m.: Cynthia Reed, who works in the building next to the one hit, told CNN she saw people who apparently were trapped. "They were hanging out the windows, screaming for help," she said.

11:44 a.m.: Firefighters used two ladder trucks and other equipment to hose down the blaze at the building, which police said was located in the 9400 block of Research Boulevard. Traffic on Southbound U.S. 183, which is adjacent to the crash site, started to snarl as black smoke poured out of the seven-story building.

11:36 a.m.: A small airplane crashed into a building in Austin, Texas, Thursday morning, according to Lynn Lundsford of the Federal Aviation Administration.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,586581,00.html

Texas Small Plane Crash Might Be Intentional Act, Officials Say
Thursday, February 18, 2010

Officials are investigating whether a small plane that crashed into an office building in Austin, Texas, Thursday morning was an intentional act, an NTSB official told Fox News.

An NTSB spokesman, however, told FoxNews.com that "we can't confirm any of that."

Authorities said they have identified the pilot as Joseph Andrew Stack, a 53-year-old software engineer who lived in Texas.

The small single-engine plane crashed into a seven-story office building in Austin around 10 a.m. local time Thursday.

The FAA said a Piper Cherokee took off from an airport in Georgetown, Texas, at 9:40 a.m. and crashed into the building in Austin shortly thereafter. Officials are investigating whether Stack owned the plane.

The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday it does not believe the crash was an act of terrorism.

"This is an isolated incident, there is no cause for alarm," a spokesman for the Austin Police Department said during a news conference.

The office fire is contained and police said the situation is "totally contained."

President Obama was briefed on the incident.

Stuart Newberg, who was in the area right before the crash, said the plane was flying low and fast, according to The Statesman.com.

“It was flying low and fast and I did a double take," Newberg said, according to the Web site.

"I thought it was a play remote control plane. Then I saw the smoke."

He told the paper he thought the plane seemed “very controlled.”

Harry Evans, an assistant chief with the Austin Fire Department, said one person from the building was unaccounted for. He said two have been taken to a hospital.

"There may be other injuries, we are unsure at this time," Evans said during a news conference Thursday.

An Internal Revenue Service office is located inside the building.

IRS Agent William Winnie said he was on the third floor of the building when he saw a light-colored, single engine plane coming towards the building, TheStatesman.com reported.

“It looked like it was coming right in my window,” Winnie said, according to the Web site.

Winnie said the plane veered down and smashed into the lower floors. “I didn’t lose my footing, but it was enough to knock people who were sitting to the floor.”

The Austin American-Statesman newspaper reported several "walking wounded" at the scene of the crash. Paramedics have set up a triage center at the scene.

Heavy smoke could be seen coming from the building at 9420 Research Boulevard. Several local witnesses on Twitter reported seeing flames coming out of the building and lots of broken glass.

Dozens of fire trucks were on scene and the building was evacuated.

Early reports that the building housed the FBI field office in Austin later turned out not to be true. An FBI spokesman told Fox News that the FBI office in Austin is near where the plane crashed, but not in the same building. There are some federal offices in the building, though authorities couldn't identify which ones.

The NTSB is sending staff out of Dallas and DC to the scene.

MyFoxAustin.com reported earlier Thursday that Austin firefighters responded to a house fire at a home believed to be Stack's. Firefighters reported that the entire house was engulfed in flames, including the fence, when they arrived on the scene.

An Internet user with the name "Joe Stack" posted a suicide note to a social media Web site, ranting against the IRS, according to TheStatesman.com.

"If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, “Why did this have to happen?'" the note reportedly read. "The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time."