Indicates FAA Will Make 'Temp' NYC Flight Restrictions Permanent

The NTSB released its factual report of the October 11 crash of an SR20 which took the lives of New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor Tyler Stanger.

The report details the board's findings on the condition of the wreckage, and toxicology tests of both Lidle and Stanger.

According to the NTSB, medical examiners found no indication of drugs or alcohol in Lidle's or Stanger's bodies.

Because the aircraft included avionics that might have some stored information about the flight, investigators had hoped to gain a better understanding of the plane's flight path before it impacted a Manhattan apartment tower, but damage to the systems were too extensive.

Nor did the NTSB's report reveal any information about who might have been exercising control of the aircraft during the crash.

According to the Associated Press, the question of who was flying the aircraft has major financial implications for the beneficiaries of Lidle's life insurance policy. Lidle's policy from Major League Baseball includes a $450,000 benefit, with an accidental death benefit of $1.05 million. but includes an exclusion for "any incident related to travel in an aircraft ...while acting in any capacity other than as a passenger."

Additionally, the NTSB report indicates flight restrictions put in place by the FAA following the accident prohibiting flight over the river unless the pilot maintains radio contact with ATC are to become permanent.

According to the NTSB documents, the FAA on December 12 "indicated that they would be proceeding with a rulemaking action to make the restrictions ... permanently effective."

An Associated Press report says the FAA could not immediately confirm whether it would make those restrictions permanent.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.faa.gov