Thursday, February 18, 2010

UPDATE: Austin Plane Crash Pilot Targeted Federal Offices FBI, IRS?

We have breaking news from CBSNews:

The house fire was contained, according to Austin fire officials. Records identified the homeowner at the address as Andrew J. Stack.

The plane crashed near an FBI building, but did not hit it, FBI spokesman Eric Vasas told CBS Radio News.

Officials tell the Associated Press one person is unaccounted for and two people were taken to the hospital.

Department of Homeland Security official Matt Chandler told CBS News there was "no reason to believe" the crash was related to terrorist activity.

Witnesses reported feeling a tremble and seeing the plane hit the side of the building, reports CBS affiliate KEYE-TV in Austin.

Black smoke was coming from the second and third stories of the building as fire crews using ladder trucks and hoses battled the fire. People had evacuated the building and were standing in the parking lot.

Dozens of windows were blown out of the hulking black building and vehicles traveling on a nearby highway paused to look.

FBI agents were also on the scene.

A spokesman from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport told CBS News that, as far as he knows, the airport's control tower had nothing to do with the plane.

In response to the crash, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) launched two F-16 fighter jets from Ellington Field in Houston to conduct air patrols. Spokesman Jamie Graybeal said the patrols were a "prudent precaution and consistent with our response to recent similar air incidents."



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