Joseph Stack's Daughter Samantha Bell Recants, Says Suicide Pilot Was 'Not a Hero'

(Feb. 23) -- Samantha Bell, daughter of the man who flew a small airplane into an IRS building in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, killing himself and one other man, has recanted her claim that her father was a hero.

In a phone interview that aired Monday on "Good Morning America," Bell answered the question "Is your father a hero?" by saying, "Yes. Because now maybe people will listen." But Bell, 38, later called the ABC News show and took back her statement, saying her father, Joseph Stack, was "not a hero" and that the only hero related to the attack was Vernon Hunter, the IRS employee who was killed in the crash.

Texas Department of Public Safety, AP

Joseph Stack flew his small airplane into an office building in Texas on Thursday, killing an IRS employee and himself.

Stack allegedly set his house on fire before embarking on what was apparently an anti-government suicide mission. He left a lengthy, ranting manifesto online that focused mostly on the injustices of the tax system, concluding, "Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well."

In her initial interview with ABC News, Bell said that her father's attack was wrong, but she agreed that people had to speak out against the injustices of the government.

"But I do not agree with his last action with what he did. But I do agree about the government," she said.

Her comments elicited a response from Hunter's son, Ken Hunter, who said his father, a two-tour Vietnam veteran, was the one who was the hero.

Bell said she was in mourning for Vernon Hunter and offered his family her condolences.

"I lost my father, but I feel guilty to be mourning my father because I know other people have been affected and a wonderful man has died because of my father's actions," she told ABC News. "And I need to pay my respects and mourn for the man and his family."