CLARENCE, New York - A commuter plane "basically dove" into a Buffalo-area house while coming in for a landing, sparking a fiery explosion that killed all 49 people on board and one person on the ground, an emergency official said Friday.
It was the first fatal crash of a commercial airliner in the United States in 2 1/2 years.
Witnesses heard the twin turboprop aircraft sputtering before it went down in light snow and fog around 10:20 p.m. Thursday. Flames silhouetted the shattered home after Continental Connection Flight 3407 plummeted into it around about five miles from Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
"The whole sky was lit up orange," said Bob Dworak, who lives less than a mile from the crash site. "All the sudden, there was a big bang, and the house shook."
The 74-seat Q400 Bombardier aircraft, operated by Colgan Air, was flying from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and preparing to land at Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
No security link seen
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said there is "no indication of any security related event" that brought the plane down.
Six hours after the crash, the task of retrieving remains had not yet begun.
"It's still a hot scene," Clarence emergency control director Dave Bissonette said. "The fuselage lies right on the footprint of the house."
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of crash investigators to Buffalo early Friday.
Residents describe odd noises
While residents of the neighborhood where the plane went down were used to planes rumbling overhead, witnesses said this one sounded louder than usual, sputtered and made some odd noises.
After hearing the crash, Dworak 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."
Witness Tony Tatro said he saw the plane flying low and knew it was in trouble.
"It was not spiraling at all. The left wing was a little low," he told WGRZ-TV.
Mother and daughter escape home
One person in the home that the plane struck was killed, and two others inside were able to escape with minor injuries.
The two who escaped were later named by hospital officials as Karen Wielinski, 57, and her daughter Jill, 22, The Buffalo News reported.
Twelve homes were evacuated near the crash site. The tail or part of a wing was visible through flames and thick smoke that engulfed the 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 center in the neighboring town of Cheektowaga, where counselors and representatives from Continental waited to help.
Chris Kausner, believing his sister was on the plane, rushed to a hastily established command center after calling his vacationing mother in Florida to break the news.
"To tell you the truth, I heard my mother make a noise on the phone that I've never heard before. So not good, not good," he told reporters. Video
What caused the crash?
Feb. 13: TODAY hosts talk to NBC News aviation expert Robert Hager about what might have caused Flight 3407 to go down near Buffalo, N.Y..
Today show
Sue Bourque told The Buffalo News her sister, Beverly Eckert, was aboard the plane. Eckert is the widow of Sean Rooney, who was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Bourque said that while the family had not yet received official confirmation of her sister's fate, the reality was settling in.
"We know she was on that plane," she told the newspaper, "and now she's with him."
Erie County Executive Chris Collins said the plane was carrying 5,000 pounds of fuel and apparently exploded on impact.
Firefighters got as close to the plane as they could, he said. "They were shouting out to see if there were any survivors on the plane. Truly a very heroic effort, but there were no survivors."
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Complaints of ice on wings
Prior to the crash, the voice of a female pilot on Continental Flight 3407 could be heard communicating with air traffic controllers, according to a recording of the Buffalo air traffic control's radio messages shortly before the crash captured by the Web site http://www.liveatc.net . Neither the controller nor the pilot showed any concerns that anything is out of the ordinary as the airplane is asked to fly at 2,300 feet.
Video
Weather a role in Buffalo crash?
Feb. 13: TODAY’s Al Roker looks at the wintry weather conditions present when Flight 3407 crashed into a Buffalo, N.Y., home.
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A minute later, the controller tries to contact the plane but hears no response. After a pause, he tries to contact the plane again.
Eventually he tells an unidentified listener to contact authorities on the ground in the Clarence area.
"You need to find if anything is on the ground," the controller says. "All I can tell you is the aircraft is over the marker (landing beacon), and we're not talking to them now."
After the crash, at least two pilots are heard saying they have been picking up ice on their wings.
"We've been getting ice since 20 miles south of the airport," one says.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29173163/
Versace
I saw this on the news this morning! Wow there have been a lot of plane crashes lately.
1I was watching this on CNN this morning. Scary and sad.
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2It's very sad!
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"No day, but today"
3It's horrible.
4So scary and awful.
5Icing on the wings and flying in fog. Two of my biggest fears about flying
6I woke up to this, how very sad. Everybody on board died, plus one person on ground. The images are gruesome.
May God keep you always safe dear Jenna.
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7meow meow meeeowww
It is tragic. But I am tired of hearing on the news, "female pilot" this, and "female pilot," that. Do we hear male pilot, white pilot, black pilot, hispanic pilot? No. Why female?
8I have to agree with you there, GS.
9Shi
This is so sad! This is even more tragic to me, "Sue Bourque told The Buffalo News her sister, Beverly Eckert, was aboard the plane. Eckert is the widow of Sean Rooney, who was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center." How horribly coincidental!
10Not only that, she just met with President Obama last week about the victims of 9/11. I mean, she and one of her 9/11 groups. It sounds like she must have been a spokesperson for the group because she has done lots of press over the years. Plus, she was on the way to her husband's (and also Tim Russert's, coincidentally) alma mater to set up a scholarship in his name.
11Oh, that's so sad.
12very sad.
13Oh man
That is just horrible 
14How sad. Esp sad about the 9/11 widow but at the same time, Im sure its peaceful being back with him. very ironic that she died in a plane crash too. I just hate that now every time a plane crashes people have to know it its terrorist related or a security threat.
15Oh gosh, tox! Are people saying that? That would be terrible. I was just reading on tmz that 2 members
16of chuck mangione's band were on the flight.
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