'Charles J. Bishop' (1987 -
January 5,
2002) was an
American teenage pilot who committed suicide by crashing a
Cessna 172 into the 28th floor of the Bank of America tower in
Tampa, Florida on
January 5,
2002. A note written by Bishop was found in the wreckage and expressed his support for
Osama bin Laden and the
September 11, 2001 attacks.
[1]
Bishop attended
East Lake High School in
Tarpon Springs, Florida. Bishop had been taking flying lessons for 2 years but never on a solo flight. He stole a Cessna 172 aircraft and took off without authorization from a
Clearwater, Florida flying school, flying over the restricted airspace of
MacDill Air Force Base before crashing into the Bank of America tower in Tampa.
[2]
Accutane lawsuit
Bishop's family filed a $70 million lawsuit against
Roche, makers of the
acne medication
Accutane which Bishop was taking, claiming he was "poisoned" by it.
[3] On
June 26,
2007 the lawsuit was dismissed at the request of Julia Bishop, Charles' mother, saying she was physically and emotionally unable to continue the case.
[4]
Suicide note
The text of the
suicide note Bishop left in the aircraft:
2
References
1. Police: Tampa pilot voiced support for bin Laden
2. Terrorist? Or Lonely Teen?
3. Suit: Drug behind suicide flight
4. Lawsuit ends over boy-pilot's acne drug
External links
★
The Smoking Gun - Image and transcription of Bishop's suicide note