A small plane crashed into an Upper East Side apartment building at 2:45 this afternoon.

Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle was on
board the small aircraft that crashed into a residential building at
524 E. 72nd Street.

FAA records
show the plane was registered to Cory Lidle and he was scheduled to return
home today. He was on the plane with his flight instructor. His passport was found on the sidewalk.

Lidle, 34, was recently acquired by New York from the Philadelphia
Phillies with Bobby Abreu at the trade deadline. He pitched in Game 4
against Detroit on Saturday. He leaves behind a wife and
a six-year-old son.

The Belaire Building between York Avenue and the
FDR was struck by the plane shortly before 3 p.m. Eyewitnesses describe
“huge pieces” of debris raining down on the street below as several
apartments were engulfed in flames.

The Fire
Department had the flames extinguished in about 80 minutes.

Residents of the condo and the building next door were evacuated as
thick black smoke wafted above the city skyline, and flames shot from
the apartments where the plane crashed.

As of 5:45 residents of the apartment building were being allowed back in.