Truly Tasteless Post Headline Of The Day

‘Bomber’ Pilot Crashes Plane:

Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle was instantly killed yesterday when his small plane slammed into an Upper East Side high-rise and exploded in flames.

The crash, which also killed Lidle’s flight instructor, spewed fiery debris onto the street, spurred a frenzied evacuation of building residents, and sent military fighter jets scrambling over Manhattan amid fears of another terror attack.

“[The plane] was sputtering. It looked like it lost a tail rudder. It went into the building sideways,” said Erroll Gindi, a witness to the disaster at 524 E. 72nd St., on the corner of York Avenue. “There was a deafening crash, and flames shot out of the building.”

. . .

A helicopter pilot who had been in the air over the East River at the time told authorities that he watched as Lidle’s plane performed wild “acrobatic maneuvers” moments before the crash, indicating that its pilot was likely trying to avoid the building as it experienced control problems.

Lidle’s death stunned the Yankee organization, which continues to mourn the 1979 loss of beloved Bronx Bomber catcher Thurman Munson in a plane crash.

Yes, yes — we know they’re called the Bombers, but jeez, can you not be so clever for one lousy day?

Then there’s this charming observation which I’m guessing isn’t in the Times:

The crash disintegrated most of the light plane, and both bodies were burned beyond recognition.

Last night, one of the victims remained strapped in his seat in the mangled cockpit, which lay on the street in front of the building.

The body of the other victim had been torn in half, with the lower part of his torso still missing.

See also: Yankee Cory Lidle Was On Plane That Crashed . . .; Yeesh.

Yankee Cory Lidle Was On Plane That Crashed . . .

Mayor Bloomberg is holding a worthless press conference right now*, confirming nothing that we already know:

Corey Lidle, a pitcher for the New York Yankees, was killed today when his small private plane crashed into a residential high-rise building on New York City’s Upper East Side, igniting several apartments before pieces of the aircraft crashed to the ground, a high ranking city official confirmed late this afternoon.

Police said two bodies were found on the ground shortly after the crash, one of them that of Mr. Lidle, who was a licensed pilot. The plane was registered to Mr. Lidle.

*Why bother? It certainly doesn’t make him look Giuliani-like when the graphic underneath him tells us more than he’s revealing.

Smaller Guns, Plastic Keys

Rejected Post headline — “It’s Not The Size, It’s What You Do With It”:

City cops are on the alert for the SwissMiniGun — a 2.16-inch replica of a Colt Python capable of shooting bullets that are just one-third of an inch long.

The six-shot revolver — which sells for about $500 and can literally fit in the palm of a hand — is capable of causing serious damage, authorities say.

The guns cannot be imported legally, but smuggling is a concern, officials said.

Cops are also watching out for plastic handcuff keys that are approximately the size of a nickel.

The keys cannot be picked up by metal detectors and look like a pendant when worn on a chain.

The NYPD last Saturday warned the city’s 36,000 officers to “use extreme vigilance” when searching, guarding and transporting prisoners.

Only Ivy League Or Similar Need Stir Fry

Columbia sophomores may be our country’s future leaders, but they still don’t yet know their way around the kitchen:

The period after freshman year, when students’ mandatory meal plans have ended and their survival culinary skills have yet to kick in, is an awkward one. Rather than purchase the expensive, but convenient meals in John Jay-averaging between $9.20 to $11.50-many students opt out and attempt to feed themselves. How well this works depends on students’ ingenuity.

Ben Heller CC ’09 sustains himself on his own cooking and, sometimes, on cartons of cheese poofs “for days on end.” Periodically, however, he will take all of his food and make a giant stir-fry.

“My last experiment consisted of chili, pasta with meat sauce, chicken teriyaki, four eggs or so, some cheddar cheese, basil (lots of basil), and some chocolate-flavored peanut butter,” he said. Heller claims the concoction turned out well despite its haphazard origins.

For some, eating is more a question of avoiding starvation than staying healthy. “I eat a lot of cereal instead of actual food. Cereal and Ramen,” said Winston Nguyen, CC ’09. Nguyen says that if students don’t know how to cook, it’s a good idea for them to find other people who can and make a meal together. “Everyone together can figure out what they’re doing,” he said.

When “Helping A Lot Of People” Leads To Temptation

A cop has been arrested for stealing the credit cards of people whose deaths he was investigating:

Officer Eduardo Saillant, 38, of the 60th Precinct in Brooklyn allegedly took the cards while taking part in investigations of elderly people’s deaths, a law-enforcement source said.

He used the cards to charge an undetermined amount of money at gas stations and stores such as Home Depot, the source said. And when he was busted, he was also found with a stolen police radio, cops said.

Saillant was arrested quietly on Tuesday and freed on his own recognizance Wednesday. He was slapped with misdemeanor charges of petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and official misconduct and a felony charge of grand larceny in the fourth degree, which could get him up to four years in prison.

The first alleged theft occurred on May 3, when Saillant and his partner responded to a report of a death on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. There they found the body of Howard Apler, 63, who died of heart disease.

Saillant allegedly swiped Apler’s Visa card and used it to charge items at a Home Depot and for gasoline.

A short time later, the dead man’s sister noticed charges being made to the card and, after talking with relatives, alerted police.

Then there’s this apology:

Richard Acevedo, 42, a close friend of the officer’s, said Saillant is a divorced dad of two.

“Eddie’s a good-hearted person,” Acevedo said. “He tries to help a lot of people, and sometimes helping a lot of people he gets himself in trouble.”