Lidle was the third Yankee to die in a plane crash. The prior two were catcher Thurman Munson (on August 2, 1979) and pitcher Jim Hardin (on March 9, 1991). Yankees owner George Steinbrenner described Lidle's death as a "terrible and shocking tragedy that has stunned the entire Yankees organization" and offered his condolences to Lidle's wife and six-year-old son. On October 12, 2006, before the 2006 NLCS game in New York City between the New York Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals, both teams and all spectators observed a moment of silence in Lidle's memory.