NEW YORK -- New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle was aboard a small plane that crashed into a 50-story condominium tower Wednesday on Manhattan's Upper East Side, killing at least one other person, authorities said.

Broadcast reports said Yankees owner George Steinbrenner confirmed the pitcher's death.

A federal official told The Associated Press that Lidle's passport was found on the street. It's not yet clear who was at the controls of the plane, a Cirrus SR-20.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the small, multi-engine private plane struck the 50-floor residential building at 72nd Street and York Ave. It was unclear who was at the controls when the plane, which headed north up the East River, circled the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor and then headed toward Manhattan.

Witnesses said the crash caused a loud noise, and burning and falling debris was seen. Flames were seen shooting out of the windows. The building was evacuated.

Burning debris fell on the streets below as firefighters shot water streams of water at the flames from lower floors.

"There's huge pieces of debris falling," said one witness who refused to give her full name. "There's so much falling now, I've got to get away."

Fighter jets from Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts were scrambled after the crash as a precaution against a possible terrorist attack.

Some of the residents of the Manhattan building hit by a plane managed to escape. Others came home to the shock of their lives.

Photographer Richard Drutman was at home on the 11th floor when the plane hit several floors above. Drutman says he was on the phone when all of a sudden there was a "huge explosion." He looked out the window to see what he believes were pieces of the wings falling past. Drutman and his girlfriend then quickly got out.

Mystery writer Carol Higgins Clark has a 38th floor apartment. She was heading home in a taxi when she saw the smoke and realized something was wrong.

Clark, the daughter of author Mary Higgins Clark, described the building's residents as a mix of actors, doctors, lawyers and fellow writers.

Yankees' Owner And Manager Stunned By News About Lidle

The New York Yankees are stunned by news that Lidle was aboard the small plane that slammed into a Manhattan high-rise.

Team owner George Steinbrenner issued a statement calling it a "terrible and shocking tragedy" and offering "deep condolences and prayers" to Lidle's wife and son.

On the team's Web site, manager Joe Torre is quoted as saying he was with former Yankees Ron Guidry and Lee Mazzilli when they got the news. Torre says that while Lidle's time with the Yankees was short, he proved himself to be "a good teammate and a great competitor."

Lidle came to the Bronx in a July trade with the Philadelphia Phillies. He spent nine seasons in the majors, playing for seven teams.

The Yankees aren't strangers to tragedies involving planes. In 1979, catcher Thurman Munson died when the plane he was piloting crashed.