Boy who crashed plane a loner

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The 15-year-old honor student who crashed his plane into the 28th story of a downtown bank building was a loner by all accounts, but those who knew him were surprised his suicide note expressed support for suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Police Monday tried to piece together events leading up to the crash Saturday when Charles Bishop, a British citizen who did not have a license to fly, climbed into a Cessna shortly before a flight lesson at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.

His first, unscheduled solo flight lasted just more than nine minutes and included one minute over MacDill Air Force Base -- where U.S. military strategy for the war against terrorism is devised.

It also included a close call as it flew 1,000 feet above a Southwest Airlines Boeing 727. The jet's pilot saw the plane and slowed his aircraft to avoid any chance of a collision.

Bishop's flight ended with what officials now say was a suicide crash into the Bank of America building.

Charles Bishop's mother, Julie, was in seclusion and not talking about the incident. His father has been out of the picture for years. His grandmother, Karen Johnson, talked briefly to the Boston Herald on the telephone.

"He was a wonderful kid. An honor student," she said. "He was a great son and a wonderful grandson."

Tampa Police Chief Bennie Holder said investigators found a two-page handwritten letter from Bishop in the wreckage of the plane. He said it expressed support for bin Laden and the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington Sept. 11.

Classmates and a teacher expressed surprise at the revelation.

Derek Perryman, a senior at East Lake High School, sat behind Bishop, a freshman, in Journalism I class. He told the St. Petersburg Times Bishop read a paper to the class he had written about the attacks.

"It was real expressive about how he felt, how disappointed he was. He seemed very pro-American," Perryman said.

Journalism teacher Gabrielle Terry told the Tampa Tribune, "He was very disturbed because so many people lost their lives."

Terry also recalled an incident that occurred later when she cautioned the class not to judge people based on their skin color or religion. She said Bishop approached her after class and thanked her. He said for all anyone knew he could be part Arab.

Public records show Bishop's family name was once Bishara, and Holder said Monday investigators are looking into that angle.

"We have heard on talking to some people he said he mentioned he was of Arab descent. We're following up on that," Holder said. "The young man to the best of my knowledge had no contact with this father."

Holder said the investigation so far showed Bishop had few friends but no history of trouble.

"He was an honor student. He was a loner from what we have been able to determine. He had very few friends. But really there was no indication that he was having any trouble. There was no indication he would do such a thing," he said.

Holder said investigators were examining Bishop's computer to determine whether there is anything there that would indicate why he committed the act.

As a freshman, it was Bishop's first year at East Lake High School, but his family also had a recent history of moving around and putting down few roots.

A slender, round-faced boy with acne and freckles, Bishop was born in Atlanta, and he and his mother moved to Atlanta in 1996. Two years later they moved again, to the Tampa Bay area. He attended four middle schools in the area before enrolling in East Lake in August.

Neighbors said the boy's white terrier with a black ring around one eye appeared to be his only companion. They said he also had a cat.

He was described as respectful and polite. Nobody, including his teachers and classmates at school, knew he had been taking flying lessons for two years.

Lindsey Knotts, a senior at East Lake, said in an interview published in The Tribune Bishop spoke of cars and his desire to own one, but not of airplanes.

"We never knew he flew or anything," Knotts said.