The pilot, Joe Stack, posted a suicide note online, ranting about the IRS

A man furious with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), USA's tax agency, crashed his small plane into a building that houses federal tax employees yesterday, setting off a raging fire.

The pilot, identified as Joseph Andrew Stack, a 53-year-old software engineer who lived in the state of Texas, was confirmed dead.

Stack posted a suicide note to a social media website, ranting against the IRS. "If you're reading this, you're no doubt asking yourself, "Why did this have to happen?" the note read. "The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time...

"Violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer...

"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. 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," the note dated.

Stack took off in his own Piper Cherokee at 9.40 am (local time)and didn't file a flight plan.

About 190 IRS employees work in the seven-storey building, and IRS spokesman Richard Sanford said the agency was trying to account for all of its workers.

IRS Agent William Winnie said he was on the third floor of the building when he saw a light-colored, single engine plane coming towards the building. "It looked like it was coming right in my window," Winnie said.
Winnie said the plane veered down and smashed into the lower floors.

	Crash pilot called "easy going"
	Joe Stack was even-tempered and unflappable, said a woman who knew him. Stack, who used to play in a band, was described as "easy going" by the band's manager. "He talked politics like everyone, but didn't show any obsession," said Pam Parker, the wife of the band manager.

Stuart Newberg, who was in the area before the crash, said the plane was flying low and fast. "It was flying low and fast and I did a double take," Newberg said. "I thought it was a play remote-controlled plane. Then I saw the smoke." He said he thought the plane seemed "very controlled."

Harry Evans, an assistant chief with the Austin Fire Department, said one person was unaccounted for, while two people had been taken to a hospital. "There may be other injuries," said Evans.

Dozens of fire trucks were on scene and the building was evacuated. The office fire was contained soon.

Set home on fire

Meanwhile, it also emerged that Stack had set fire to his home before the flight.

Neighbors said they heard a loud explosion right before the house became engulfed in flames. A 12-year-old girl and a woman, reportedly Stack's stepdaughter and wife, were rescued from the house. A neighbor said Stack was an experienced pilot.u00a0

The single-engine private plane, reportedly flown by a suicidal pilot, crashedu00a0on Thursday into a seven-storey building complex housing the offices of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) injuring two people, media reports said.