Firefighters respond to an airplane crash at a building in the Texas capital Thursday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* A small plane crashed into a building in the Texas capital, an FAA official says
* Firefighters, equipped with a ladder truck, are presently trying to fight the blaze
* On a nearby interstate, traffic began to snarl as black smoke poured out of the building

(CNN) — A small airplane crashed Thursday morning into a building in Austin, Texas, said Lynn Lundsford of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Firefighters used a ladder truck and other equipment to hose down the blaze at the building, which police said was located in the 9400 block of Research Boulevard.

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Traffic on a nearby interstate started to snarl as black smoke poured out of the building.

Details were still forthcoming, authorities said.

AUSTIN, Texas – A small plane crashed Thursday into an office building in Austin, causing a fire and sending black smoke billowing from the seven-story structure, officials said.

Fire department officials said an unknown number of people were being taken to hospitals. Dawn Clopton, a division chief with the Austin Fire Department, said two people from the building were unaccounted for.

The plane hit the Echelon Building, which is located on a major highway north Austin.

Several fires were burning from the second to the fourth floors, KXAN reported.

Austin-Travis County EMS Assistant Director James Shamard said smoke was visible for at least a mile and that paramedics have set up a triage center at the scene. “We have no idea right now if there are any patients, or how many,” he told the Austin American-Statesman.

Emergency officials told the newspaper the building has seven stories.

Tucker Thurman was driving to work when he said he saw a small plane flying very low over the highway. He said he saw it then bank heavily to the right before heading into the building.

“There was a huge fireball. It’s right into the building,” Thurman told the Statesman.

Austin plane crash was deliberate, officials say – UPDATED -

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* Pilot appears to have burned his house, then crashed his plane into intentionally
* A message on a Web site registered to pilot appears to be a suicide note
* Austin mayor downplays any terrorism links to crash.
* Witnesses described an infernal scene that shook nearby buildings

(CNN) — An Austin, Texas, resident with an apparent grudge against the Internal Revenue Service set his house on fire Thursday and then crashed a small plane into a building housing an IRS office with nearly 200 employees, officials said.

Federal authorities identified the pilot of the Piper Cherokee PA-28 as Joseph Andrew Stack, 53.

Two people were injured and one person was missing, local officials said. There were no reported deaths.

A message on a Web site registered to Stack appears to be a suicide note.

See iReport photos and videos from the scene

“If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, ‘Why did this have to happen?’ ” the message says. “The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time.”

In the lengthy, rambling message, the writer rails against the government and, particularly, the IRS.

See text of the note (PDF)

The building into which the airplane crashed is a federal IRS center with 199 employees.

RELATED TOPICS

* Austin (Texas)
* Accidents and Disasters

“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,” the online message says. “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.”

Two people were transported to University Medical Center Brackenridge, said hospital spokeswoman Matilda Sanchez. She could not provide additional information.

University Medical Center Brackenridge is the only Level 1 trauma center for adults in Austin.

St. David’s Medical Center, the other major hospital in the area, said it had not received any patients.

Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell said one person remained unaccounted for Thursday afternoon.

He tried to calm any concerns residents could have about the crash and the huge fire, which he said was mostly contained.

“It is an isolated incident,” the mayor said. “The people of Austin, the people of the nation, are in no danger whatsoever.”

He added that “there is evidence that the gas tank was just about full. … That amount of gasoline … can do a lot of damage.”

Witnesses described an infernal scene that shook nearby buildings and sent fire and smoke bellowing into the sky.

“I just saw smoke and flames,” said CNN iReporter Mike Ernest. “I could not believe what I was seeing. It was just smoke and flames everywhere.”

The crash occurred around 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET).

Firefighters used two ladder trucks and other equipment to hose down the blaze at the Echelon office building, which police said is in the 9400 block of Research Boulevard.

The flames seemed mostly extinguished about 75 minutes later.

The FAA said preliminary information indicated the plane departed Georgetown Municipal Airport north of Austin about 9:40 a.m. CT.

Jack Lillis, an attendant at Georgetown airport, said initial indications are that the flight originated there but there were conflicting reports and he could not verify that information.

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The pilot evidently did not file a flight plan, the FAA said. No flight plan was required because flights Thursday morning were under visual flight rules, or VFR, because of clear weather.

Two F-16 fighter jets were sent from Houston as a precaution, but federal authorities said preliminary information did not indicate any terrorist connection to the crash.

“We do not yet know the cause of the plane crash,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a release. “At this time, we have no reason to believe there is a nexus to terrorist activity. We continue to gather more information, and are aware there is additional information about the pilot’s history.”

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