Last night, Colgan Air flight 3407 crashed into a house while on approach to Buffalo, New York killing 50 people. All 49 on-board the aircraft were killed, as well as 1 person inside the house. A few on the ground escaped death and only suffered minor injuries. The aircraft, a DeHaviland Dash 8-Q400, was flying from Newark International Airport on behalf of Continental Airlines (Commuter).
The plane went down in a densely housed neighborhood. It is amazing that the aircraft did not destroy several houses in the neighborhood, but rather just hit one house.
The NTSB arrived at Buffalo this morning at 7:30 am; they are expected to hold a news conference this afternoon regarding the crash. It’s pure speculation, but many are saying that between 10,000 – 3,000 feet, the aircraft accrued ice which caused one of the engines to stop running. That is the unofficial reason right now, as we await the official reason from NTSB investigators.
One of my past flight instructors flies for Colgan, luckily, however, he was not aboard the aircraft. Unfortunately other people’s friends perished in this incident. My condolences go out to those who had loved ones / friends on-board this aircraft. The crew on-board this aircraft: Colgan Air Captain Marvin Renslow, First Officer Rebecca Shaw, Flight Attendant Matilda Quintero, Flight Attendant Donna Prisco, and Colgan Air Captain Joseph Zuffoletto (off-duty).
A very active 9/11 widow was on-board, Beverly Eckert, who was flying to Buffalo to celebrate what would have been Sean Rooney’s, 58th birthday. Mr. Rooney was 50 years old when he died in the World Trade Center. President Obama specifically mentioned Ms. Eckert: “She was on her way to Buffalo to mark what would have been his husband’s birthday and launch a scholarship in his memory,” Mr. Obama said. “She was an inspiration to me and to so many others. And I pray that her family finds peace and comfort in the hard days ahead.”
Update (2:00 am 2/14/09): The crew of the aircraft reported “significant ice buildup” on the wings and windshield, just minutes before hitting the house (from the FAA). The aircraft descended early, to avoid haze, and extended its flaps and landing gear. The de-icing system was turned on by the pilots. The flight crew discussed significant ice buildup on the aircraft’s wings and windshield shortly before the incident occurred. Shortly after, the aircraft suffered severe pitch-and-roll excursions (nose moved up and down, and wings moved side-to-side). Less than a minute later, the aircraft crashed, while at a steep angle, just 6 miles away from the airport, into the home of Douglas and Karen Wielinski. Douglas, 61, was killed. Karen, and their daughter Jill survived with minor injuries.
Some news groups have paralleled this crash to the events that SAS suffered from in 2007. Those events all occured within a month of each other (September 9 to October 27). Each incident was the same; the landing gear of the Dash-8-Q400s collapsed on landing. On September 12, 2007, Bombardier, the manufacturer of the Dash-8 series recommended all Q400s with over 10,000 landings to be grounded for inspection of their landing gear after two non-fatal accidents within three days involving the landing gear of a Q400 series aircraft. On that note, remember that those incidents had to do with landing gear, and are unrelated.
Please note that everything posted that is related to the crash is unofficial. The NTSB is investigating the issue, and I can’t say it’s 100% accurate until they complete their investigation.
Update (11:30 pm 2/14/09):
From BBC:
A plane that crashed onto a house in New York state, killing 50 people, fell flat rather than diving as initially thought, investigators have said.
The Continental Airlines Bombardier Dash 8 was also pointing away from the airport it was meant to land at, investigator Steve Chealander said.
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