US Student Pilot of Crashed Plane Voiced Support for Bin Laden

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 07, 2002

US Student Pilot of Crashed Plane Voiced Support for Bin Laden

A 15-year-old student was killed when a small noncommercial plane he drove crashed into a Bank of America building in downtown Tampa, Florida, on Saturday afternoon. The student had written a note voicing support for Osama bin Laden, police said.

Charles J. Bishop was killed at the scene when he drove a single-engine Cessna into the 42-story Bank of America building in downtown Tampa, Florida.

The note found on his body expressed sympathy for bin Laden and support for the September 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, Tampa police said.

Bishop had also said on the note that he acted alone, and police said there were no indications that Bishop had ties to any terrorist groups.

Tampa Police Chief Bennie Holder described Bishop as a young man who had very few friends and was very much a loner. From his action of "suicide", Holder said, Bishop was "a very troubled young man."

Saturday's incident took place after Bishop's grandmother brought him to a National Aviation school for a flying lesson scheduled for 5 p.m. (2200 GMT). Bishop took off the plane from St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport, about 30 kilometers from Tampa, without clearance.

The Coast Guard sent a helicopter to intercept the plane and gave Bishop visual signals to land at a small airport, but the plane did not respond. Witnesses said he made no attempt to avoid the building.

The crash was a horrifying reminder of the September 11 terror attacks, during which hijacked passenger planes were used to slam into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington.

Some of the hijackers had been trained at Florida flight schools before the attacks.

Small Plane Crashes into Building in Florida, Killing Pilot

The 15-year-old student was killed when a small noncommercial plane he drove crashed into a Bank of America building in downtown Tampa, Florida, on Saturday afternoon.

Several hours after the crash, television footage showed the tail of the single-engine Cessna still hanging near the 20th floor of the 40-story skyscraper.

Local police identified the pilot as Charles Bishop, of Palm Harbor, Florida, who had been taking lessons for two years at the National Aviation flight school.

The incident took place after his grandmother brought him to the school for a flying lesson scheduled for 5 p.m. (2200 GMT), according to a local police spokeswoman. It was unclear how Bishop managed to get into the plane without an instructor accompanying him.

The Coast Guard sent a helicopter to intercept the plane after being notified by the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Tampa, that the four-seat plane took off without clearance.

A Coast Guard spokeswoman said the helicopter gave Bishop visual signals to land at a small airport, but the plane did not respond.

It was unclear if Bishop intentionally slammed into the building or he just lost control of the plane.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in Portland, Oregon, where President George W. Bush was on a trip aimed at promoting his economic policies, that Bush had been briefed on the incident and the White House had been in touch with Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge.

There is no indication of terrorism, McClellan said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has sent agents to Tampa to investigate the incident.

No fire was caused by the crash but fireman sprayed the area with foam to prevent possible flames sparked by the aviation fuel. No one was hurt on the ground or in the building.

The crash was a horrifying reminder of the September 11 terror attacks, during which hijacked passenger planes were used to slam into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington.