High-rise apartment building in New York's Upper East Side, after a small plane crashed into it

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a small plane to crash into a high-rise apartment building in New York City Wednesday.

The crash killed the two people on board the plane - a member of the New York Yankees baseball team and his flight instructor.

The 34-year-old ballplayer, Cory Lidle, recently joined the Yankees and was the owner of the single-engine aircraft.

After taking off from a small airport in nearby New Jersey, the plane flew around the Statue of Liberty, then headed north on the brief, ill-fated flight.

The plane then began swerving wildly and crashed into the 52-story residential building, sending flames and smoke out of the building.

The scene briefly raised fears of a terrorist attack. It reminded many New Yorkers of September 11, 2001, when two hijacked airliners slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

The government soon ruled out terrorism in Wednesday's crash, but still sent out fighter aircraft to patrol over several cities.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.