12 months ago
CLARENCE, N.Y. (AP) -- A federal official says the crew of a commuter plane that crashed near Buffalo discussed "significant ice buildup" on the wings and windshield before the crash.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Steve Chealander also says the twin turboprop aircraft went through a "severe pitch and roll" after positioning its flaps for a landing.
Continental Connection Flight 3407 from Newark, N.J., was coming in for a landing when it went down in light snow and fog late Thursday. It was a few miles short of Buffalo-Niagara International Airport.
Investigators have recovered the two "black boxes" from the burned-out wreckage of a plane that crashed near Buffalo and killed 50 people.
Spokesman Keith Holloway of the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders have already been sent to Washington for examination.
A commuter plane dropped out of the sky without warning and nose-dived into a suburban Buffalo house in a fiery crash that killed all 49 people aboard and one person in the home. It was the nation's first deadly crash of a commercial airliner in 2 1/2 years.
The cause of the disaster was under investigation, but other pilots were overheard around the same time complaining of ice building up on their wings -- a hazard that has caused major crashes in the past.
The twin turboprop aircraft -- Continental Connection Flight 3407 from Newark, N.J. -- was coming in for a landing when it went down in light snow and fog around 10:20 p.m. Thursday about five miles short of the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
Witnesses heard the plane sputtering before it plunged squarely through the roof of the house, its tail section visible through flames shooting at least 50 feet high.
"The whole sky was lit up orange," said Bob Dworak, who lives less than a mile away. "All the sudden, there was a big bang, and the house shook."
Two others in the house escaped with minor injuries. The 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.
Federal investigators searched through the wreckage of the plane and demolished house for the black box recorders that could shed light on what went wrong, but they said the smoldering debris was still too hot to look for bodies.
No mayday call came from the pilot before the crash, according to a recording of air traffic control's radio messages captured by the Web site LiveATC.net. Neither the controller nor the pilot showed concern that anything was out of the ordinary as the airplane was asked to fly at 2,300 feet.
A minute later, the controller tried to contact the plane but heard no response. After a pause, he tried to contact the plane again.
Eventually he told an unidentified listener to contact authorities on the ground in the Clarence area.
Erie County Emergency Coordinator David Bissonette said it appeared the plane "dove directly on top of the house."
"It was a direct hit," Bissonette said. "It's remarkable that it only took one house. As devastating as that is, it could have wiped out the entire neighborhood."
The 74-seat Q400 Bombardier aircraft, also known as the Dash 8, in Thursday's disaster was operated by Colgan Air, based in Manassas, Va. Colgan's parent company, Pinnacle Airlines of Memphis, Tenn., said the plane was new and had a clean safety record.
The nearly vertical drop of the plane suggests a sudden loss of control, said William Voss, a former official of the Federal Aviation Administration and current president of the Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group.
Voss suggested that icing or a mechanical failure, such as wing flaps deploying asymmetrically or the two engines putting out different thrust, might have caused the crash, he said.
After the crash, at least two pilots were heard on air traffic control messages saying they had been picking up ice on their wings. "We've been getting ice since 20 miles south of the airport," one said.
Ice on the wings of a plane can alter aerodynamics and interfere with lift and handling. The danger is well known among pilots.
In general, smaller planes like the Dash 8, which uses a system of pneumatic de-icing boots, are more susceptible to icing problems than larger commuter planes that use a system to warm the wings. The boots, a rubber membrane stretched over the surface, are filled with compressed air to crack any ice that builds up.
A similar turboprop jet crash 15 years ago in Indiana was caused by icing, and after that the NTSB issued icing recommendations to more aggressively use the plane's system of pneumatic de-icing boots. But the FAA hasn't adopted it. It remains part of the NTSB's most-wanted safety improvements list.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators to Buffalo. The Department of Homeland Security said there was no indication of terrorism.
While residents of the neighborhood were used to planes rumbling overhead, witnesses said it sounded louder than usual, sputtered and made odd noises.
David Luce said he and his wife were working on their computers when they heard the plane come in low. "It didn't sound normal," he said. "We heard it for a few seconds, then it stopped, then a couple of seconds later was this tremendous explosion."
Dworak drove to the site, 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."
One person in the home was killed, and two others inside, Karen Wielinski, 57, and her 22-year-old daughter, Jill, escaped with minor injuries. The woman who survived a commuter plane crashing into her suburban Buffalo, New York, home says she and her daughter were watching television when the aircraft smashed through the roof, pinning them in the wreckage.
Wielinski tells Buffalo radio station WBEN-AM that she was in the family room of her home in Clarence and her 22-year-old daughter Jill was upstairs.
Wielinski says she knew something was wrong when she heard a plane approaching and says, "The next thing I knew the ceiling was on me."
She says she managed to crawl out of a hole in the wreckage as fire erupted around her. Her daughter escaped in a similar manner.
Wielinski says she still hasn't been told of the fate of her husband, Doug, who was in another part of the house.
The plane was carrying 5,000 pounds of fuel and apparently exploded on impact, Erie County Executive Chris Collins said.
It was the first fatal crash of a commercial airliner in the United States since Aug. 27, 2006, when 49 people were killed after a Comair jetliner mistakenly took off from a Lexington, Ky., runway that was too short.
About 30 relatives and others who arrived at the Buffalo airport overnight were escorted into a private area and then taken by bus to a senior citizens center in the neighboring town of Cheektowaga, where counselors and representatives from Continental waited to help.
The 9/11 widow on board was identified as Beverly Eckert. She was heading to Buffalo for a celebration of what would have been her husband's 58th birthday, said Mary Fetchet, a 9/11 family activist.
Clarence is a growing eastern suburb of Buffalo, largely residential but with rural stretches. The crash site is on a street of older, single-family homes about 20 to 25 feet apart that back up to a wooded area.
A publicist says two members of jazz musician Chuck Mangione's band were among those killed on the plane that crashed into a Buffalo, New York, house.
Publicist Sanford Brokaw identifies the band members as Gerry Niewood and Coleman Mellett.
In a statement Mangione, said: "I'm in shock over the horrible, heartbreaking tragedy."
Names of people killed in crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407. The names have been provided by airline officials, relatives or friends.
Crew members:
Passengers:
Des Forges was returning home to Buffalo after a trip to Europe, where she briefed diplomats on the situation in Rwanda and Africa's Great Lakes region, said Emma Daly, spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch. She sent an e-mail to colleagues from the airport before boarding the plane.
"She was working till the end," Daly said.
Des Forges had a "tremendous commitment to human rights and her tremendous principles," Daly said.
"She made herself very unpopular with the Rwandan government by insisting that they be held responsible for the crimes they committed before the genocide," Daly said.
Daly called Des Forges "a thorn in everyone's side, which is a testament to her integrity."
Des Forges was born in Schenectady, N.Y., in 1942. In 1964, she married Roger Des Forges, a University of Buffalo historian specializing in China. She is survived by a daughter, a son, and three grandchildren.
Her husband, Sean Rooney, was on the phone in the World Trade Center telling her he loved her when suddenly there was a loud explosion and nothing more.
Eckert was heading to Buffalo, her hometown, for a celebration of what would have been her husband's 58th birthday, said Mary Fetchet, a 9/11 family activist.
Last week, she was at the White House with President Barack Obama as part of a meeting with relatives of those killed in the 2001 attacks and the bombing of the USS Cole to discuss how the new administration would handle terrorism suspects.
She was part of a small group of Sept. 11 widows, mothers and children who became amateur lobbyists, ultimately forcing lawmakers in 2004 to pass sweeping reforms of the U.S. intelligence apparatus.
When her work was done, she turned her energies to Habitat for Humanity, helping build homes for low-income families.
Kausner was part of a group of about a half-dozen young women who had remained close friends since middle school, said one of the group, Candice Ciesla.
"Ellie was a crazy, out-there kind of girl, totally full of life," said Candice Ciesla. "This is a huge nightmare, the most surreal thing I've experienced."
Ciesla, who now lives in California, learned of Kausner's death when she got a call from a high school friend.
"I was in the grocery store when he called and I almost fainted right there," Ciesla said.
Loftus' 22-year-old brother, Frankie Loftus, said his sister never worried about flying because their father was a pilot for Continental. He said he dropped her off at the airport Thursday.
"She was an amazing person. She loved to make everyone happy," he said. "Everyone who met her loved her instantly."
Loftus transferred to St. Mary's University in Minnesota after her sophomore year, Ventura said.
Loftus "was one the greatest people who ever came out of Buffalo State hockey," said her former teammate, Carolyn Totaro. "She worked really, really hard to be where she was. Hockey was her passion, especially when it came down to competition. She was so driven to play hockey."
Loftus played for Buffalo State from 2002-04, finishing with 10 goals and three assists over 47 games. In two seasons at St. Mary's, the 5-foot-5 forward had 11 goals and 10 assists in 52 games.
"We are heartbroken that someone so young and full of life could be taken from us so suddenly," Brian McDonald, the vice president of development at Princeton, said in a statement released by the university.
Maurer was traveling to New York to meet the family of her boyfriend, Kevin Kuwick, an assistant basketball coach at Butler University, The Buffalo News reported.
Maurer, who grew up in Sinking Spring, Pa., was a champion swimmer at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., where she graduated in 2001. She received a master's degree from the University of Florida.
She had worked at Princeton since 2005.
Mellett who friends referred to as "Coley", grew up near Washington, D.C. and graduated from DeMatha Catholic High School in 1992. He moved to New Jersey to study at William Paterson University, according to his MySpace profile. After graduating he moved to New York and earned a master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music in 1998. His High School band director, John Mitchell tells 9 News Now, "he had a passion for what he was doing. He did all the right things. he took lessons. He practiced a lot, listened to all the great guitar players at the time and was just one of those people that was a joy to teach."
Mellett, 33, lived in East Brunswick, N.J., with his wife, singer Jeanie Bryson, according to the Star-Ledger of Newark.
He was flying to Buffalo for a performance with Mangione's band.
Niewood once said he learned jazz improvisation on his own.
"I listened to jazz records and mentally transcribed them. Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane," he told City Newspaper, a Rochester, N.Y., weekly in 2006.
In addition to Mangione, Niewood backed artists as diverse as Peggy Lee, Simon and Garfunkel, Judy Collins, Frank Sinatra and Sinead O'Connor, among others. He also played on the soundtracks of movies including "A Bronx Tale," "When Harry Met Sally" and "King of Comedy."
Her fiance, William Adamski, said she last called around 6 p.m. Thursday to ask about the weather in the Buffalo area. He said that he tried to reach her cell phone several times, but it always went to voice mail. He heard from her company around 3:30 a.m. that her plane had crashed.
Adamski said his fiance loved to hike and play slot machines. "She was a woman of chance," he said.
The couple were engaged in December and had been planning a spring wedding.
A Canisius College graduate, Pettys had nine siblings.
Renslow, 47, joined Colgan Air, the company operating the flight, in September 2005 and had flown 3,379 hours with the airline.
Jeff Hiser, who went to school with Renslow in Shenandoah, Iowa, and is now the activities director at Shenandoah High School, said Renslow graduated from high school in 1979 and left Iowa to pursue his goal of becoming a pilot. He remembered Renslow as outgoing, involved in the fine arts and an excellent drummer.
Renslow's family is "very proud of Marvin's accomplishments as a pilot," said Alan Burner, associate pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lutz. "They know that he did everything that he could to save as many lives as he could, even in the accident. Marvin loved to fly. He was doing what he loved to do. He was living his dream."
Neighbors said Renslow had two children in elementary school.
She joined the company in 1975 and served on the boards of the Book Industry Study Group and Educational Paperback Association.
Srnecz, who lived in Clinton, N.J., and worked in Bridgewater, N.J., was headed to the Buffalo area for a visit with family members.
"I worked alongside Jean for 30 years and there was no one more knowledgeable or respected, as a professional and a person," Baker and Taylor President Arnie Wight said in a statement. "Jean truly loved this business and was loved by many it. She will be sorely missed."
Srnecz graduated from D'Youville College in Buffalo and received a master's degree in political science from SUNY-Buffalo. She also earned a master's of business administration in finance from New York University.
"She absolutely loved to fly," said her mother, Lyn Morris.
Shaw graduated in 2002 from Tahoma High School, where she was active in volleyball, softball and student leadership, district spokesman Kevin Patterson said. She attended Big Bend Community College before transferring to Central Washington University in Ellensburg. She graduated in 2007 with a degree in flight technology, university spokeswoman Teri Olin said.
"As a woman in aviation, you have to be really sure of what you're doing and to be out there giving it everything -- and Becca certainly did that," said Amy Hoover, chair of Central Washington's aviation department.
Shaw leaves behind a husband, Troy.
She also paid sick visits to hospital patients and worked to get other faiths involved in the region's religious community, he said.
Berghash said she was "loved by every congregant here and she will be sorely missed."
Before Temple Beth Am, Wehle was the cantorial soloist at Temple Sinai in nearby Amherst for 9 1/2 years. She taught musical and spiritual workshops, conducted youth and adult choirs and performed in concerts in the United States, Canada and Israel.
Wehle lived in Amherst. She is survived by her two sons, Jacob and Jonah Mink. Jacob is currently in Vermont and Jonah is in Israel, Berghash said.
"He didn't even like being on helicopters when he was in the Marine Corps," Ingram said.
Yarber, 62, was originally from Dayton, Ohio, and became a musician after the war, Ingram said. He played the guitar and sang and had several bands. His favorite type of music was rhythm and blues.
He lived in the Tampa Bay area for several decades, but recently moved to Riverside, Calif., to live with his son, Ingram said.
He was headed to Buffalo spend time with a friend. Ingram said she spoke with a family friend that received confirmation from Continental Airlines that he was on the flight.
Yarber had four biological children, three daughters and a son, as well as an adopted daughter.
He loved flying from an early age and earned his private pilot's license at 17. He also spent spare time at the Chautaqua County-Jamestown Airport, even when he wasn't flying.
"We had a small restaurant here at the airport that was understaffed," Dave Sanctuary, the airport manager, told the Post-Journal of Jamestown, N.Y. "He would come in many times when he was not on duty flying and would volunteer cooking at the restaurant. He was very kind, very professional, very likable."
One reason he always returned to Jamestown was that his grandmother lives in nearby Buffalo.
He graduated from University of San Diego High School in California in 1999 and earned an aviation degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
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