Experimental plane slams into sprawling Federal Reserve Bank in Miami, killing pilot

Friday, December 6th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MIAMI (AP) _ Federal Reserve Bank officials were celebrating the holidays when a small experimental plane slammed into the sprawling building, crashing in a heap of smoke and fire.

The pilot of the Four Winds 192 died when the plane hit the northeast side of the bank Thursday and exploded. No one inside the one-story, 280,000-square-foot building was injured.

``When we first came out of and walked around the side, it was really hard to determine that it was a plane,'' said Jay Curry, the bank's vice president and branch manager, who went to investigate with security officials. ``There wasn't much to view except the smoke and fire.''

Authorities don't believe the crash was deliberate.

``It appears to be an accident,'' said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown in Washington.

The building, which also houses the Miami bureau of The Associated Press, had some broken windows but no structural damage.

The bank is one of six that make up the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Through the six facilities, the bank provides cash to financial institutions, transfers money electronically and clears millions of checks every day. The Miami bank employs 250 people.

It is situated just north of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military activities in 32 nations and 12 dependencies in Latin America and the Caribbean.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Alan Yurman said early Friday that the four-passenger plane left New Smyrna Beach, Fla., with two passengers and arrived in Marathon, Fla., on Thursday.

The pilot was the only one aboard the plane when it left Marathon for the return trip to New Smyrna Beach on Thursday night, he said.

The plane crashed about three miles west of Miami International Airport and the pilot contacted air traffic controllers there, airport spokeswoman Tere Estorino said.

The aircraft, manufactured in July, was flying north at 5,500 feet when it suddenly made a sharp turn to the southeast and crashed, said Alan Yurman, spokesman for the NTSB. The reason for the change in direction was unknown, he said. The identity of the male pilot, who was alone onboard, was not immediately released.

The pilot had not reported any problems and witnesses did not see any fire from the engine, Yurman added.

``One of the witnesses said they saw it at about 500 feet and it was wobbly,'' Yurman said.

The Four Winds 192 is described on the company's Web site as a four-seat, single turboprop aircraft with a range of 1,000 miles.