Fear Of (Low) Flying (Planes)

I remember how I felt on September 11, 2001 when I heard that a plane flying too low had crashed into the first of the World Trade Center towers. At first, I thought that it was an inexperienced pilot flying too low. As the drama unfolded and yet another building was hit by a plane and then, the Pentagon, I realized that this was something more... an elaborate plot by terrorists.

Today, around lunch time, I saw a CNN report that said another plane had hit a building in Austin, TX and it was believed to be intentional. My mind began to race and once again, I thought it was terrorist action. Then, I found out that much like the Oklahoma bombing, this was some homegrown terrorism.

Apparently, a man who was upset with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) set fire to his home and then, got into a small plane and crashed it Thursday into a multistory office building, authorities said. At least two people were injured and a third was unaccounted for when reported. The crash caused a fire and sent black smoke billowing from the seven-story Echelon Building.

Officials told The Associated Press that authorities were trying to determine if the pilot intentionally targeted nearby office space of the IRS. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing. Another official said authorities were pursuing reports that the pilot had a long-running dispute with the IRS.

The man was identified as Andrew Joseph Stack, officials confirmed to NBC News. A senior law enforcement official told NBC's Pete Williams that the saga began Thursday morning, when police received a domestic disturbance call at Stack's house. When they responded, they discovered that the man had lit a fire in his house and fled. They said he went to the Georgetown Municipal Airport (about 30 miles north of the crash site), got into a small plane, and took off.

A short time later, the plane crashed into the office building. Federal officials said they did not know whether the man crashed the plane intentionally, though they said it was a "distinct possibility", the official told NBC.

As a precaution, the Colorado-based North American Aerospace Defense Command launched two F-16 aircraft from Houston's Ellington Field to patrol over the crash area. The Echelon Building is next to a major highway in North Austin, and the crash started fires on several floors of the building. Dozens of windows were blown out of the hulking black building and vehicles traveling on a nearby highway paused to look. Authorities were conducting a roll call to try to account for all the workers who were in the building.

Two people were taken to a hospital, Austin Assistant Fire Chief Harry Evans said. The nature and severity of their injuries weren't immediately clear and a third person was unaccounted for, Evans said. It was not immediately known if the victims were from the plane or the office building.

In a rambling statement posted on the website of his independent software company "Embedded Art", Stack apparently blamed the IRS for the loss of tens of thousands in savings and retirement money over the years. Hell! Does he think he's the only one who can complain about that?

In one instance, he says: “That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public. They actually buy hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their "freedom" and they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.” (Wow, haven't I been saying that since I started this blog two years ago?)

He also wrote: "Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it's time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days, if not hours?

“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.”

Wow, if he wasn't so murderously wrong, I could feel for this guy because his frustration is the frustration of many. Somebody has got to stop the bleeding. Somebody has got to slow this "gravy train" down or else we are going to see more people like Stack. I'm not upholding him, but I'm saying I understand and share in his frustration up to a point.

Take this pound of flesh and do something America. Don't sleep well, do something to ease the mounting frustration of more and more people who feel betrayed and desperate. I warned in another post that this might be a sign of the times. I sure pray that it isn't.