Teachers: 'Sweet boy' showed no signs of suicide flight

Flyer's family 'appalled and devastated'

TAMPA, Florida (CNN) -- Teachers of the 15-year-old honor student who died when he crashed a small Cessna into a Tampa office building described Charles Bishop as a "sweet boy" who expressed anger toward Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks.

One teacher even said Bishop told her he wanted to join the U.S. Air Force to "do something good for his country."

That description of the high school freshman is in stark contrast to authorities' portrayal of Bishop as a troubled teen who had a note in his pocket expressing support for bin Laden and the terror attacks.

Gabriella Terry, a journalism teacher at East Lake High School, said she was "stunned" when she first learned that her student piloted the Cessna 172 into the 42-story Bank of America office building in downtown Tampa.

She immediately began reviewing his classwork to see if he had exhibited any signs of carrying out his suicide flight, Terry said. "And I didn't miss a thing," she said. "He was a good boy."

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The day after September 11, she and her students talked about the terror attacks that destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center and heavily damaged the Pentagon.

"He was very upset by the entire tragic events that took place. He was actually angered at this," Terry said. "He told me he wanted to join the United States Air Force because he wanted to do something good for his country."

She went on to describe Bishop as a sociable, kind-hearted boy who got along with his classmates. He was, she said, just one of two students who gave her a Christmas present -- a coffee mug and coffee.

"The picture that is being portrayed of him is not the student that we knew and loved," she said.

Family 'appalled and devastated'

News of Bishop's involvement hit hard among some students at East Lake High School. About 20 went to school counselors to grieve over the loss of their friend, said Carol Madura, a member of the school's crisis team.

English honors teacher Andrea Panarelli said she was equally shocked.

"Charles was a sweet boy, intelligent, friendly. He had a good sense of humor," she said. "This was something totally out of the blue. No one saw it coming."

Panarelli also reviewed his classwork, including his journal entries in the days after September 11, and said she found nothing that gave any hint of his troubles.

"It does shake my faith," said a tearful Panarelli.

Bishop's family released a statement Monday, saying it was "appalled and devastated" by the incident.

"We had absolutely no prior indication that this might occur," the family said. "We will always remember Charles as a loving and giving person, a hard-working and responsible, honor roll student, and a boy who cared deeply about his country."

Checking computer, phone records

According to Tampa Police Chief Bennie Holder, Bishop was carrying a handwritten note, which investigators found at the scene of the crash, "expressing his sympathy for Osama bin Laden and the events which occurred September 11, 2001." Holder said the letter "had some other things in there that we prefer not to talk about (since) the investigation is still ongoing, but everything in the note mentioned things that occurred on September 11th and his support of bin Laden and al Qaeda."

The incident was "isolated" and investigators do not believe Bishop was connected to any terror organizations. Holder said. Investigators looking for an explanation to his motives are looking into reports that Bishop claimed he was of Arab descent on his father's side, Holder said.

The FBI also is investigating and has seized two computers from the boy's home, said Sara Oates, a spokeswoman for the federal agency.

"We are looking at any e-mails he sent and any Web sites he visited. We're also examining phone records to see who he called or those who called him," she said.

Bishop's solo flight lasted between nine and 12 minutes. He died when his airplane crashed into the Bank of America office building in downtown Tampa, the front of the plane wedged into the 28th and 29th floors in a corner.

No one else was injured. Some employees in the top floors of building at the time of the crash were evacuated.