Wind played role in Lidle crash

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Wind played a factor in the New York crash of a small plane that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and a flight instructor.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Friday issued an update in its investigation into the Oct. 11 incident in which a plane carrying Lidle and Tyler Stanger hit a high-rise apartment building in New York.

The report said a 6-knot wind out of the east would have reduced the turning area for the plane, which would have been pushed about 400 feet toward the building. Lidle, a novice pilot, and Stanger were on a sightseeing flight along the East River and were making a 180-degree turn when they hit the building.

The NTSB said if the pilot had not made an aggressive turn, the plane could have been put in a position to stall.

The NTSB did not say who was piloting the plane.