Plane Crashes Into Tampa Skyscraper

[dbaker]

Plane Crashes Into Tampa Skyscraper

TAMPA, Fla. –– A small plane with a student pilot took off without permission Saturday, did not respond to orders to land from a Coast Guard helicopter and then crashed into a skyscraper, authorities said.

A law enforcement official in Washington, speaking only on condition of anonymity, said the FBI does not believe the crash is related to terrorism but has sent agents to the scene.

The student left the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport in a Cessna 172 and then crashed into the Bank of America building, Coast Guard Lt. Lance Isakson said. It hit near the 20th floor of the 40-story building.

[dbaker]

Plane Crashes Into Tampa Skyscraper

TAMPA, Fla. –– A small plane with a student pilot took off without permission Saturday, did not respond to orders to land from a Coast Guard helicopter and then crashed into a skyscraper, authorities said.

A law enforcement official in Washington, speaking only on condition of anonymity, said the FBI does not believe the crash is related to terrorism but has sent agents to the scene.

The student left the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport in a Cessna 172 and then crashed into the Bank of America building, Coast Guard Lt. Lance Isakson said. It hit near the 20th floor of the 40-story building.

[dbaker]

Probably less exciting than hoped.

[dbaker]

Probably less exciting than hoped.

[dbaker]

Cops: Teen Pilot Supported bin Laden

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The 15-year-old who crashed a small plane into a skyscraper wrote a note expressing sympathy for Osama bin Laden and support for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, police said Sunday.

The short, handwritten suicide note found in Charles Bishop's pocket said he acted alone, Tampa Police Chief Bennie Holder said. The high school freshman had no apparent terrorist ties, Holder said.

[dbaker]

Cops: Teen Pilot Supported bin Laden

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The 15-year-old who crashed a small plane into a skyscraper wrote a note expressing sympathy for Osama bin Laden and support for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, police said Sunday.

The short, handwritten suicide note found in Charles Bishop's pocket said he acted alone, Tampa Police Chief Bennie Holder said. The high school freshman had no apparent terrorist ties, Holder said.

[dbaker]

Tampa Office Building Reopens After Plane Crash

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - The 15-year-old pilot who stole a small private plane and crashed it into a high-rise building in Tampa was a ``troubled'' youth who expressed sympathy for Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) in an apparent suicide note, police said.

Charles Bishop deliberately flew the single-engine Cessna 172 into the 28th floor of the 42-story Bank of America building Saturday after a brief flight from St. Petersburg, investigators said.

No one else was hurt and damage to the building was slight, with no structural injury, according to engineers.

It would be terrible if that was your office!

[dbaker]

Tampa Office Building Reopens After Plane Crash

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - The 15-year-old pilot who stole a small private plane and crashed it into a high-rise building in Tampa was a ``troubled'' youth who expressed sympathy for Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) in an apparent suicide note, police said.

Charles Bishop deliberately flew the single-engine Cessna 172 into the 28th floor of the 42-story Bank of America building Saturday after a brief flight from St. Petersburg, investigators said.

No one else was hurt and damage to the building was slight, with no structural injury, according to engineers.

It would be terrible if that was your office!

[dbaker]

Military not warned about suicide plane

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. civil aviation authorities failed to warn the military that a Cessna plane had been stolen until it had already been crashed into a Tampa, Fla., bank building after buzzing a military airbase, officials said Monday.

Instead, the North American Aerospace Defense Command heard about the crash on Federal Aviation Administration radio traffic and scrambled fighter planes near Miami to fly protective missions over the Tampa area, NORAD spokesman Maj. Barry Venable told United Press International Monday.

By that time, the Cessna, piloted by a 15-year old boy on an apparent suicide mission, had buzzed MacDill Air Force Base, home to U.S. Central Command and Gen. Tommy Franks, who is running the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

This is absolutely unacceptable. How many more people will have to die before we take legitimate action?

[dbaker]

Military not warned about suicide plane

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. civil aviation authorities failed to warn the military that a Cessna plane had been stolen until it had already been crashed into a Tampa, Fla., bank building after buzzing a military airbase, officials said Monday.

Instead, the North American Aerospace Defense Command heard about the crash on Federal Aviation Administration radio traffic and scrambled fighter planes near Miami to fly protective missions over the Tampa area, NORAD spokesman Maj. Barry Venable told United Press International Monday.

By that time, the Cessna, piloted by a 15-year old boy on an apparent suicide mission, had buzzed MacDill Air Force Base, home to U.S. Central Command and Gen. Tommy Franks, who is running the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

This is absolutely unacceptable. How many more people will have to die before we take legitimate action?

[tycoonjack]

I though I had heard that a helicopter had been dispatched it attained a visual of him and then motion to him to land, but he ignored it.

[tycoonjack]

I though I had heard that a helicopter had been dispatched it attained a visual of him and then motion to him to land, but he ignored it.

[dbaker]

That's confirmed in one of the earlier articles, I'm sure.

[dbaker]

That's confirmed in one of the earlier articles, I'm sure.

[dbaker]

Tampa Crash Pilot Had Acne Drug Prescription
Medicine's Link to Suicide Is Being Probed

TAMPA, Jan. 8 -- A 15-year-old student pilot who killed himself by crashing an airplane into a skyscraper was prescribed an acne medication whose links to suicide and depression have been the subject of federal inquiries, law enforcement officials said today.

A prescription for Accutane, used to treat severe acne, was found at the home of Charles J. Bishop, Pinellas County Sheriff's Maj. Sam Lynn said.

"We are aware that he had a prescription," Tampa police spokeswoman Katie Hughes said. "We don't know if he was taking it, how long. . . . We don't know those details."

Calls to Bishop's family were not returned today.

The Food and Drug Administration says 147 people taking Accutane, which affects the body's central nervous system, either committed suicide or were hospitalized for suicide attempts from 1982 to May 2000. There has yet to be any conclusive evidence, however, that the drug causes depression or suicide, and the manufacturer maintains that it is safe.

[dbaker]

Tampa Crash Pilot Had Acne Drug Prescription
Medicine's Link to Suicide Is Being Probed

TAMPA, Jan. 8 -- A 15-year-old student pilot who killed himself by crashing an airplane into a skyscraper was prescribed an acne medication whose links to suicide and depression have been the subject of federal inquiries, law enforcement officials said today.

A prescription for Accutane, used to treat severe acne, was found at the home of Charles J. Bishop, Pinellas County Sheriff's Maj. Sam Lynn said.

"We are aware that he had a prescription," Tampa police spokeswoman Katie Hughes said. "We don't know if he was taking it, how long. . . . We don't know those details."

Calls to Bishop's family were not returned today.

The Food and Drug Administration says 147 people taking Accutane, which affects the body's central nervous system, either committed suicide or were hospitalized for suicide attempts from 1982 to May 2000. There has yet to be any conclusive evidence, however, that the drug causes depression or suicide, and the manufacturer maintains that it is safe.

[dbaker]

Accutane Acne Drug Maker Sued Over Florida Suicide

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - The family of a Florida teen-ager who flew a stolen plane into a Tampa office tower filed a $70 million wrongful death lawsuit against drug maker Hoffman-La Roche on Tuesday, alleging the company's Accutane acne medicine caused the boy to commit suicide.


Charles Bishop, 15, killed himself on Jan. 5 when he crashed the single-engine Cessna into the 28th floor of the 42-story Bank of America building, an incident that echoed the Sept. 11 assaults on New York and Washington. He left a note expressing sympathy for Islamic militant Osama bin Laden (news - web sites).

[dbaker]

Accutane Acne Drug Maker Sued Over Florida Suicide

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - The family of a Florida teen-ager who flew a stolen plane into a Tampa office tower filed a $70 million wrongful death lawsuit against drug maker Hoffman-La Roche on Tuesday, alleging the company's Accutane acne medicine caused the boy to commit suicide.


Charles Bishop, 15, killed himself on Jan. 5 when he crashed the single-engine Cessna into the 28th floor of the 42-story Bank of America building, an incident that echoed the Sept. 11 assaults on New York and Washington. He left a note expressing sympathy for Islamic militant Osama bin Laden (news - web sites).