# Italian Skyscraper Crash

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-skyscraper-crash/104340>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 18, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-skyscraper-crash/104340 "2002-04-18T16:47:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![JSA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f04885/32.png) [@JSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSA)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-skyscraper-crash/104340/1 "2002-04-18T16:47:29Z")

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A small passenger airplane has hit the Pirelli building in Milan Italy.

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**Author:** ![JSA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f04885/32.png) [@JSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSA)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-skyscraper-crash/104340/2 "2002-04-18T16:48:55Z")

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[http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/04/18/italy.milan/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/04/18/italy.milan/index.html)

MILAN, Italy (CNN) – A small plane has hit a skyscraper in central Milan, setting the top floors of the 30-story building on fire, an Italian journalist told CNN.

The crash by the Piper tourist plane into the 26th floor occurred at 5:50 p.m. (1450 GMT) on Thursday, said journalist Desideria Cavina.

The building houses government offices and is next to the city’s central train station. Several storeys of the building were engulfed in fire, she said.

Italian TV showed a hole in the side of the Pirelli building with smoke pouring from the opening.

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**Author:** ![Hemlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Hemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hemlock)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-skyscraper-crash/104340/3 "2002-04-18T17:04:57Z")

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Just read the BBC/CNN reports. Too weird to be an accident. Not horrifying enough to be a professional attack.

My immediate reaction, FWIW.

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**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-skyscraper-crash/104340/4 "2002-04-18T17:20:27Z")

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All indications are that the crash was an accident. The building houses goverment offices and luckily most workers would leave by 5:00. The crash occured at 5:45. Two fatailities reported so far.

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**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-skyscraper-crash/104340/5 "2002-04-18T19:12:59Z")

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Four fatalities now.

The pilot was apparantly a well-known local, past retirement age, and flames were reported from the aircraft prior to collision. I’d say “unintentional” is pretty much certian, now.

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**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-skyscraper-crash/104340/6 "2002-04-18T20:02:59Z")

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What’s the general question here, anyway?