50 killed in Buffalo air crash - report

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Continental commuter plane coming in for a landing nose-dived into a house in suburban Buffalo, sparking a fiery explosion that killed all 49 people aboard and a person in the home. It was the first fatal crash of a commercial airliner in the United States in 2 and a half years.

Witnesses heard the twin turboprop aircraft sputtering before it went down in light snow and fog around 10:20 p.m. Thursday about eight kilometres from Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Continental Connection Flight 3407 from Newark, N.J., came in squarely through the roof of the house, its tail section visible through flames shooting at least 15 metres high.

The Canadian-made Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 made a “direct hit” on the house but remarkably missed several others in a residential neighbourhood, said Dave Bissonette, director of the community’s emergency control.

“The whole sky was lit up orange,” said Bob Dworak, who lives about a kilometre away. “All the sudden, there was a big bang, and the house shook.”

Two others in the house escaped with minor injuries.

The commuter plane was carrying a four-member crew and an off-duty pilot. Among the 44 passengers killed was a woman whose husband died in the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

By morning, with the rubble still smoking, the task of retrieving remains had not yet begun.

In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Lisa Monette said Friday morning no Canadians were believed to have been on board the plane but department officials were still working with U.S. authorities to verify the information.

U.S. President Barack Obama voiced condolences, saying “our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones.”

Prior to the crash, the voice of a female pilot could be heard communicating with air traffic controllers, according to a recording of radio messages exchanged shortly before the crash.

Neither the controller nor the pilot showed any concerns that anything was out of the ordinary as the airplane was asked to fly at 700 metres.

A minute later, the controller made two unsuccessful attempts to contact the plane, then asked the pilot of a nearby Delta Air Lines aircraft if he could spot the Continental flight.

“Delta 1998, look off your right side about five miles for a Dash 8 about 2,300 (feet). You see anything there?” he asks on the recording.

“Uh, negative,” the Delta pilot replied.

Witnesses painted a vivid picture of the mayhem caused by the crash.

Dworak said residents of his neighbourhood were used to planes rumbling overhead, but this one sounded louder than usual, sputtering and making some odd noises.

After hearing the crash, he drove over to take a look, and “all we were seeing was 50 to 100 foot flames and a pile of rubble on the ground. It looked like the house just got destroyed the instant it got hit,” he said.

Another witness also said that he thought the aircraft was in trouble as it flew low over his house.

“It was sputtering, like it was going to stall out,” the young man said.

He told local television that he and his parents ran to the scene, where a woman and her daughter were trying to get help to save her husband from the burning building.

Witness Tony Tatro said he saw the plane flying low and knew it was in trouble.

“It was not spiralling at all. The left wing was a little low,” he told WGRZ-TV.

The scene of the crash was just a few dozen metres from a firehouse.

“The firefighters were on that scene immediately, attempting to rescue anyone who could have been rescued,” said Chris Collins, a county official.

“What I’ve been told is that they got as close to the plane as they could. They were shouting out to see if there were any survivors on the plane. Truly a very heroic effort, but there were no survivors.”

After the crash, at least two pilots were heard saying they had been picking up ice on their wings.

“We’ve been getting ice since 20 miles south of the airport,” one said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, said there was no indication terrorism was involved.

“All indications are that this was an air-safety event,” said spokeswoman Amy Kudwa.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of crash investigators to Buffalo early Friday.

Hours after the crash, the task of retrieving remains had not yet begun. Bissonette called it “still a hot scene.”

About 30 relatives and others who arrived at the airport in the overnight hours were escorted into a private area and then taken by bus to a senior citizens centre in the neighbouring town of Cheektowaga, where counsellors and representatives from Continental waited to help.

Our heart's go out to all the familes and folks involved.