According to UPI the crash happened about 3 PM, it was a 4-seat plane which appeared to be having problems.

CNN reported U.S. President George Bush was made aware of the crash but there was no change in security arrangements or alert levels. A White House spokesman told CNN there was no reason to believe the crash was anything other than an accident. The U.S. Northern Command, however, scrambled jet fighters over several major cities.

CNN says one death reported so far.
Audio from Yahoo News.
Yahoo says two dead.

"It's a mob scene with police and helicopters circling," said Sandy Teller, watching from his apartment a block away. "There's a dozen ambulances and lots of firefighters waiting on 72nd, on the corner. There's lots of stretchers ready, gurneys. And lots of emergency people waiting."

The crash struck fear in a city devastated by the attacks of Sept. 11 five years ago. Witnesses said sirens echoed across the east side of Manhattan as emergency workers rushed to the scene. The crash triggered a loud bang. Broken glass and debris was strewn around the neighborhood. "There's a sense of helplessness," Teller said. "Cots and gurneys, waiting. It's a mess."

. . .. . Richard Drutman, a professional photographer who lives on the building's 11th floor, said he was speaking on the telephone when he felt the building shake. "There was a huge explosion. I looked out my window, and saw what appeared to be pieces of wings, on fire, falling from the sky," Drutman said. He and his girlfriend quickly evacuated the building.

. . . . Several lower floors of the building are occupied by doctors and administrative offices, as well as guest facilities for family members of patients at the Hospital for Special Surgery, hospital spokeswoman Phyllis Fisher said. No patients were in the high-rise building and operations at the hospital a block away weren't affected, Fisher said. The Hospital for Special Surgery specializes in orthopedic operations.

More photos.
CNN video. CNN also says that the plane took off from NJ's Teterboro airport at 2:30 PM. (Via CNN main page.)

The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft involved was a private plane, flying under visual flight rules on a cloudy afternoon. Visibility was reported at nine miles at the time of the accident, with winds from the shoutheast at 13 knots. There was a cloud "ceiling" at 1,800 feet, which means visibility below that altitude would have been clear. Under visual flight rules, a pilot does not rely on instruments. When flying through the East River Corridor, a regular thoroughfare for helicopters and light planes, the pilot is not required to be in contact with air traffic control.

Planes in the eight-mile-long corridor are allowed to fly stay above an altitude of 1,100 feet, and avoid buildings. They are supposed to have radar transponders so that air traffic controllers can spot them more easily, but if the plane was at low altitude, buildings might have blocked its signal. Authorities said the plane had not been large enough to be included in regular alerts for aircraft in places they ought not to be.

NY Tri-State area Channel 7 News, with videos, including eyewitness accounts.

CNN developing (main CNN page): "First responders to the New York plane crash say an emergency call was made from the plane indicating a possible fuel problem."

WNBC says four dead.

Pajamas Media is tracking coverage.

The plane was owned by Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle, he was on board and is believed to be dead. I doubt Lidle has joined Al Qeda, and the plane was observed behaving erratically just prior to crash, so it is an accident.

Minutes before the crash, witnesses said the craft was flying erratically. Initial reports indicate that Lidle owns the Cirrus SR20, which took off from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport at about 2:30 p.m., and that he was the only person aboard the plane. His passport was found on the street.

Harold Vine, a witness to the crash said he saw a plane lose power and strike the building. "The man was going down and he tried to pull up but he didn't have enough power," said Vine an employee at Gracy Square Hospital nearby. "And then I heard a boom."

"I saw a helicopter in flames bounce off the building. It was in flames. It felt like a rocket ... All of a sudden, it fell," said Doris Light. . . . . "It was a shock, I'm still shaking from it," Light said of today's crash. "I just saw a ball of flame and out of that ball of flame was a ... a... I'm just so scared."

. . . . Alex Behring, who lives on the 34th floor of the Belaire building at 524 E. 72nd Street, said he rushed home from work when he heard news of the crash. His 2-year-old daughter Isabell was in the apartment with her babysitter. "The Nanny got Isabell and rushed her to the elevator," he said as he carried his daughter from the scene. "There was a ball of fire and smoke in the building. They were lucky to get down."

The NYPD said there was no indication from defense department officials that any suspicious aircraft were in the area. However, as a precautionary measure, NORAD has ordered fighter aircraft to patrol U.S. cities.

Vesna Badzek, 55, was walking her dog near the Belaire when the craft hit. "It was a big impact, a boom. Then I saw a big fire and then smaller ones." At that point, she said she ran and yelled for someone to call 911.

"A customer said, 'Look at that' and then I just saw the fire in the middle of the building," said fruit-seller Ahmed Nur, 31, whose stand is located at the corner of 72nd and York. Minutes later, police arrived.. . . . At a school at 74th Street and York Avenue, worried parents hustled their children out of the building.

Latest video at WNBC says that Lidle was a student pilot practicing. All injuries to firefighters and civilians are fairly light. More:

By 3:45 p.m., the flames appeared to be extinguished in the building in the tony neighborhood. Large crowds gathered at the scene, with many people in tears and others trying to reach loved ones by cell phone. Mayor Michael Bloomberg went to the site, where parts of the fuselage were falling to the ground. Two bodies were found on East 72nd Street, one of which was strapped to an aircraft chair. Two bodies were also found in one of the apartments. Also found in the street was luggage with tags that may have indicated the plane was bound for White Plains, N.Y., sources told NewsChannel 4. There was no word on injuries.

Video from WNBC: This is the best-selling model of private plane, have been involved in 20 fatal accidents, but all have been pilot error. The plane is like a fast race car with sophisticated avionics, more sensitive handling than the type of plane student pilots usually train on. News anchor says it's like training in a Toyota Corolla then driving a Porsche.

The flight path was a typical sightseeing path, circling the Empire State Building, then flying up the East River, where one is supposed to make a tight U-turn, which requires some skill to execute without a stall.

Lidle only got his license in April. They are interviewing some guy at Teterboro who says this plane is often used for training new pilots. He does say that this manouver on the East River is tricky. One is supposed to "climb and confess," rise up out of the turn and tell the air traffic controller you are having trouble. But there is so much traffic there that they might have feared a collision with another aircraft.

Now they are interviewing Lidle's teammates and other baseball players.

NBC VP witnessed the crash. plane badly tilted, crashed straight into the building, huge fireball, then airplane parts fell to the ground. Didn't look intentional, because plane didn't fly straight into building.

The building is still standing as of 6:30 PM, it doesn't look like it will collapse.