Qualla: The Day a Stolen Cessna Hit a Tampa Skyscraper

The Day a Stolen Cessna Hit a Tampa Skyscraper: Introduction

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. At 5:00 p.m. on January 5, 2002, a flight instructor at a small Florida airfield walked away from a Cessna 172, leaving his 15-year-old student to perform a routine preflight inspection. The student started the engine and took off without permission. Forty-two minutes later, the stolen aircraft struck the Bank of America Tower in downtown Tampa between the 28th and 29th floors. The pilot, Charles J. Bishop, was killed on impact. No one else was injured. It was barely four months after September 11, and a nation still reeling from that morning watched a small plane hit a skyscraper on live television - again.

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The Day a Stolen Cessna Hit a Tampa Skyscraper: Four Months After September 11

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. The timing made the crash electric with dread. America was still fortifying airports, still debating cockpit doors, still processing the images of aircraft hitting buildings. When news broke that a small plane had struck a Tampa high-rise, the immediate assumption was another coo...

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The Day a Stolen Cessna Hit a Tampa Skyscraper: A Suicide Note in the Wreckage

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. Investigators recovered a handwritten note from the crash debris. In it, Bishop expressed support for Osama bin Laden, framed the September 11 attacks as justified responses to actions against Palestinians and Iraqis, and claimed to be acting on behalf of Al Qaeda. He also wrote ...

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The Day a Stolen Cessna Hit a Tampa Skyscraper: The Aftermath and a Mother's Lawsuit

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. Bishop's mother filed a $70 million lawsuit against Roche Laboratories, the manufacturer of Accutane (isotretinoin), an acne medication the teenager had been using. The lawsuit claimed the drug's side effects - depression and suicidal ideation - had driven her son's actions. The ...

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The Day a Stolen Cessna Hit a Tampa Skyscraper: Locking the Barn Door

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. The FAA issued a security notice the day after the crash, addressing aircraft security protocols and regulations for underage student pilots. The Experimental Aircraft Association and other general aviation organizations called for tighter security at flight schools and around sm...

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The Day a Stolen Cessna Hit a Tampa Skyscraper: The Tower Still Stands

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. The Bank of America Tower (now known as Bank of America Plaza) remains one of the tallest buildings on the Tampa skyline, its 42 stories visible from miles across the bay. The impact point between the 28th and 29th floors was repaired; no structural compromise occurred. The build...

Image: Public domain