Pilot Crashes Into IRS Building

[Mitsuki]

AUSTIN, Texas – A software engineer furious with the Internal Revenue Service plowed his small plane into an office building housing nearly 200 federal tax employees on Thursday, officials said, setting off a raging fire that sent workers fleeing as thick plumes of black smoke poured into the air.

A U.S. law official identified the pilot as Joseph Stack — whose home was set on fire just before the crash — and said investigators were looking at an anti-government message on the Web linked to him. The Web site outlines problems with the IRS and says violence "is the only answer."

Federal law enforcement officials have said they were investigating whether the pilot, who is presumed to have died in the crash, slammed into the Austin building on purpose in an effort to blow up IRS offices. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

"Violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer," the long note on Stack's Web site reads, citing past problems with the tax-collecting agency.

"I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well," the note, dated Thursday, reads.

At least one person who worked in the building was unaccounted for and two people were hospitalized, said Austin Fire Department Division Chief Dawn Clopton. She did not have any information about the pilot. About 190 IRS employees work in the building, and IRS spokesman Richard C. Sanford the agency was trying to account for all of its workers.

After the plane crashed into the building, flames shot out, windows exploded and workers scrambled to safety. Thick smoke billowed out of the second and third stories hours later as fire crews battled the blaze.

"It felt like a bomb blew off," said Peggy Walker, an IRS revenue officer who was sitting at her desk in the building when the plane crashed. "The ceiling caved in and windows blew in. We got up and ran."

Andrew Jacobson was on the second floor when he heard a "big whoomp" and then a second explosion. He also thought a bomb exploded.

"When I went to look out the window I saw wreckage, wheels and everything. That's when I realized it was a plane," said Jacobson, whose bloody hands were bandaged.
Jacobson, also an IRS revenue officer, said about six people couldn't use the stairwell because of smoke and debris. He found metal bar to bust a window so the group could crawl out on a concrete ledge where they were rescued by the firefighters.

Earlier Thursday about five miles from the crash site, Stack's $232,000 home was engulfed in flames. Two law enforcement officials said Stack had apparently set fire to his home before the crash.

The roof of Stack's red brick home on a tree-lined street in a middle-class neighborhood was mostly caved in, and the home's windows were blown out. The garage doors were open and a big pile of debris was inside.

Elbert Hutchins, who lives one house away, said a woman and her teenage daughter drove up to the house before firefighters arrived.

"They both were very, very distraught," said Hutchins, a retiree who said he didn't know the family well. "'That's our house!' they cried 'That's our house!'"

Red Cross spokeswoman Marty McKellips said the agency was treating two people who live in the house. She said they would not be commenting.

"They're remarkably calm but they're clearly distraught. ... They're in need of some mental health assistance and we're providing that," McKellips said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said the pilot took off from nearby Georgetown but didn't file a flight plan. FAA records show that a Piper PA-28 Cherokee with the same tail number as the plane that flew into the building is registered to Joseph A. Stack.


Those who saw the plane before it slammed into the building were stunned to see it flying so low.


"It was insane," said Matt Farney, 39, who was in the parking lot of a nearby Home Depot. "It didn't look like he was out of control or anything."


Reginaldo Tiul-Tiul, a dishwasher at the nearby Sushi Sake Japanese Cuisine, said he had just gotten off a bus and was waiting to go into work when he saw the plane crash.


"I looked at my co-worker and said, 'Why is that plane so low?'" Tiul-Tiul, 30, said in Spanish. "It went straight for the building."


Sitting at her desk in another building about a half-mile from the crash, Michelle Santibanez said she felt vibrations. She and her co-workers ran to the windows, where they saw a scene that reminded them of the 9/11 attacks, she said.
"It was the same kind of scenario with window panels falling out and desks falling out and paperwork flying," said Santibanez, an accountant.


The National Transportation Safety Board said an investigator from the board's Dallas office has been dispatched to the scene of the crash. The White House also said President Barack Obama was briefed about the crash.


As a precaution, the Colorado-based North American Aerospace Defense Command launched two F-16 aircraft from Houston's Ellington Field, and is conducting an air patrol over the crash area.


According to California Secretary of State records, Stack had a troubled business history, twice starting software companies in California that ultimately were suspended by the state's Franchise Tax Board.


In 1985, he incorporated Prowess Engineering Inc. in Corona. It was suspended two years later. He started Software Systems Service Corp. in Lincoln in 1995 and that entity was suspended in 2001. Stack listed himself as chief executive officer of both companies.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_plane_crash_texas


He really sounded like he was going crazy (or he already was) judging by his hate note there. And to light up his own house when he has a family? I really feel bad for those that lost their families in that building...this is very concerning and although it's not as big as 9/11, it's always very disturbing to see history repeat itself...

 

[GBJoker]

The real question is, who wouldn't want to throw a plane into an IRS building?

All joking aside, the man was crazy. And more importantly, he sounds like he displayed all the standard warning signs from what I understand, and yet AGAIN, every one ignored them.

I don't understand the blowing up the house part. There will obviously be more details on tonight's news. Maybe his mortage fell apart or something?

 

[Linnaete]

^ I wouldn't make any jokes about this actually. From what I've read, the incident was nowhere near as grievous or devastating as 9/11 was (thank goodness). But it could have been more devastating. He basically flew a small plane into a building full of employees. A lot of lives could have been lost than what the current death toll may be.

It must have been very distressing for the witnesses at the scene. It is basically a smaller scale 9/11 all over again - this time caused by an angry, unfortunate businessman rather than religious extremists. I can't believe he set alight his home as well, causing extensive damage to the neighbourhood.

This tells us one thing. Violence solves absolutely nothing. Fair enough if he had a personal vendetta against the IRS - but what right did he have to use violence on other innocent individuals as well? I suppose he must have been insane - which is sad if he never received the help he needed.

 

[M1ghty Mous3]

I heard about this yesterday, while watching zombie land and smoking. I think it's kind of funny honestly. I can just see a mad man flying a plane into a building screaming at the top of his lungs in a great fury. Maybe i should make a flash about it...

 

[Donald Trump]

I think he's got a point, the rich fuck over the poor and people can't do anything about it. The Republicans are in bed with big business and the democrats aren't much better. He also criticises America's medical care and capitalism. He also defends the middle class, the poor, blacks and other immigrants. His actions were those of a rational man, however they have been distorted, purposefully or not by the media into 'insane' or 'disturbed.'
In some ways he was probably right to kill to bring attention to what he thought was a just cause, he even mentions that in his note. However now people will find it too easy to simply label him as a murderer or mad and ignore his views.

 

[SaShman]

Hal raises a good point but i don't completely agree. By using violence in this way the man has only made himself appear insane regardless of whether he was thinking rationally or not.

History is written in the favor of those in power, this man was not the first person to use violence to make a point. The storming of the Bastille is still celebrated in France despite the fact that there was bloodshed. Malcolm X is largely seen as a hero to the civil rights movement despite advocating violent resistance.

The fact of the matter is that at this stage in time people such as this man who act violently will be seen as madmen regardless of their causes. It is for this reason that violence is not the best option for these people because it essentially makes a mockery of their cause. The media will simply brand them as insane and the public will therefore disregard any causes that these people fought for.