Plane Hits Skyscraper in Milan

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Plane Hits Skyscraper in Milan

MILAN, Italy –– A small plane crashed into a skyscraper in Milan that houses the local regional government offices in clear weather early Thursday evening.

In Rome the senate's president, Marcello Pera, said it "very probably" appeared to be a terrorist attack, but immediately after, RAI state TV said the plane had apparently radioed an SOS because of engine trouble.

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Smoke billows from the 25th floor of the Pirelli building in Milan, Italy after a small plane crashed into the skyscraper in this image made from television Thursday, April 18, 2002. (AP Photo/RAI)

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2 Die As Plane Hits Milan Skyscraper

The pilot of the Piper aircraft, en route from Switzerland, had sent out a distress call at 5:54 p.m. just before the crash near Milan's main train station, said police officer Celerissimo De Simone. RAI state TV reported that the pilot said the SOS was because of engine trouble.

"We believe it isn't a terrorist attack," said police Sgt. Vincenzo Curto, who was reached at the Carabinieri headquarters in Milan. "The pilot might have taken ill or it was an engine problem."

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Official: Milan Skyscraper Crash Clearly Accident

MILAN, Italy (Reuters) - A plane crash into Milan's tallest building Thursday was clearly an accident and not a terror attack, a spokesman for Italy's air safety agency said.

"It was clearly an air accident," Adalberto Pellegrino of the National Air Safety Agency told Reuters. He said there appeared to be no foul play