Inquiry into Milan skyscraper crash

The plane punched a hole through both sides of the building

MILAN, Italy (CNN) -- Italian authorities are trying to discover why a small plane crashed into Italy's tallest building, killing three and injuring 36.

The aircraft hit the 26th floor of Milan's Pirelli Building on Thursday, killing the pilot, Luigi Gino Fasulo, 68, and two women inside the building.

Interior Minister Claudio Scajola said the crash of the single-propeller aircraft appeared to be an accident.

An Italian law enforcement official told CNN that authorities had no evidence of any link to terrorism.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO A small private plane slammed into Milan's tallest building, killing at least three people and injuring dozens. CNN's Jim Clancy reports (April 18) Play video Plane punched holes in both side of the building. (April 18) Play video   MORE STORIES • Witnesses talk of Milan plane horror  • New Yorkers' first thought: 'Not again'  • Chronology: Skyscraper disasters    EXTRA INFORMATION CNN Access: Milan crash evokes terror fears    RESOURCES • Gallery: Pictures of the crash scene  • The flight path  • The Pirelli building

Unconfirmed reports in several Italian newspapers reported Friday that Fasulo, who was also an art dealer, was mired in debt and speculated he may have committed suicide. (Newspaper review)

However, a flight instructor who described himself as a friend of the pilot said the man would never have been involved in any terror attack or suicide attempt.

The Pirelli Building -- one of the world's tallest concrete structures -- is the headquarters of the Lombardy regional government. It formerly housed the company that makes Pirelli tires.

The National Aviation Authority said Fasulo radioed the control tower at Milan's Linate Airport to report "a small problem" with his landing gear as he was approaching the airport tarmac to land.

The tower tried to put him into a holding pattern to the west of the tarmac, but the pilot turned north instead, the authority said.

When the tower contacted the pilot again to inform him he was making "improper manoeuvres," he told officials he was trying to fix the problem with the landing gear so he could land, and that was the last time the tower was able to reach him.

Milan fire brigade officials have said the plane was on fire as it flew into the 32-storey building.

Milan police said there was an explosion in the building when the four-seat plane hit shortly before 6 p.m. (noon EDT).

The plane tore gashes on both sides of the building, and sent black smoke billowing into the air. It took firefighters an hour to bring the blaze under control.

Fasulo was a pilot with 30 years flight experience.

Thousands of onlookers gaped from the piazza at the smoking hole carved into the concrete structure. As darkness fell, rescue workers trained searchlights on the hole.

The city's central train station, next door to the building, was temporarily closed and Linate airport was shut down after the crash as a precaution. Malpensa, the international airport an hour outside Milan, halted flights for a brief time but did not close.

Authorities said the flight originated at Magadino Airport near Locarno, Switzerland, about 50 miles from Milan.

Fasulo, a resident of Pregassona, a small town near Locarno, was a technician with 30 years flight experience.

A Swiss citizen, Fasulo held a commercial pilot's license and owned the plane, a relative said.