Continental Fl 3407 en route to Buffalo kills all 49 on board plus 1 on ground
We were all riding high after the heroic efforts and some circumstantial luck/divine intervention (whichever you believe) of USAirways Fl 1549. It was the first crash of that severity that I’ve seen with survivors. It gave me perhaps a false sense of comfort that not all plane crashes are deadly.
The flight from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo, New York last night was not so fortunate. What I need to keep telling myself, and maybe some of you, is that this situation is completely different, but my mind keeps wanting to make a connection as I read this news. The disbelief, still hoping for the best as I wipe the coal from eyes and read all of these disturbing news headlines.
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 took off from a Lexington, Ky., runway that was too short.
I was in living in Lexington, KY while on a grad school co-op when the above event happened and it really hit home. As I prepare to fly from Ohio to LA in a few days, the news of the past few weeks is unsettling.
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 website www.liveatc.net. Neither the controller nor the pilot exchange showed any concerns that anything is out of the ordinary as the airplane is asked to fly at 2,300 feet.
A minute later, the controller tries to contact the plane but hears no response. After a pause, he tries to contact the plane again.
Then the controller asks the pilot of a nearby Delta Air Lines plane to see if he can see the Continental flight.
“Delta 1998, look off your right side about 5 miles for a Dash 8 about 2,300 (feet). You see anything there?” he asks.
“Uh, negative,” the Delta pilot says.
excerpts above from USA Today article- PLANE CRASH NEAR BUFFALO KILLS 49
Look at the vivid color in the night sky in the above photo. I recall reading in one of the reports that there was still quite a bit of fuel left in the aircraft. I’m sure that explains the large explosion followed by a ball of fire. The crash happened shortly after 10pm on Thursday night and I recall reading that they were still battling the blaze around midnight.
from local Buffalo news station WGRZ…
Authorities tell 2 On Your Side the plane that went down on Long Street near the intersection of Goodrich and Clarence Center Roads was a commuter plane traveling from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo, New York. The plane last had radio contact with air traffic controllers in Cleveland at shortly after 10:00 p.m. while it flew at an altitude of 15,000 feet.
article: CONTINENTAL AIRLINES PLANE CRASHES IN CLARENCE CENTER
from CNN…
Authorities also said one person on the ground was killed. It is not yet known whether that person was in the home at the time of the crash…
…The plane crashed about 10:20 p.m., hitting a Clarence Center, New York, home.
Authorities said the plane went down near a local fire hall, so firefighters were quick to respond to the accident scene.
article: PLANE CRASHES INTO SUBURBAN BUFFALO-AREA HOME
We now know that one family inside the home perished while 2 others miraculously escaped alive.
One person in the home was killed, while two others inside, Karen Wielinski, 57, and her daughter, Jill, 22, were able to escape with minor injuries.
The husband who perished when the plane crashed into his home, whose name I haven’t seen yet in a report I’ve read, was 61 years old.
Additionally, one person on board was a widow as the result of 9/11 and an activist.
Among the passengers was Beverly Eckhart, 50, the widow of Sean Rooney, a Buffalo native who was killed at the World Trade Center in 2001, and herself an activist on behalf of victims’ right of the attack.
As co-chairwoman of Voices of Sept. 11, she pushed for a formal commission to investigate intelligence failures surrounding the attack and structural weaknesses in the towers. She also campaigned for a proper memorial to be built to honor the victims.
Oh, her story gets more sad…
Eckert was headed to Buffalo to mark what would have been her husband’s 58th birthday, reports the Buffalo News. She was scheduled to participate in the presentation of a scholarship established in memory of Rooney at Canisius High School – which was also Tim Russert’s alma mater.
The above 2 excerpts from People article- 50 PEOPLE DIE IN FIERY PLANE CRASH
I’m sure as more details unfold, and victims are identified, we will hear more stories about these passengers and the flight crew.
From The Buffalo News…
A nurse at Erie County Medical Center said the hospital’s second shift had been told to stay late to treat survivors but was sent home before midnight.
“There were no souls to bring in and treat,” she said…
…Crew members aboard the flight from Newark Airport had reported mechanical problems as they approached Buffalo…
…Police said one man was in the residence at the time of the crash…
…Chris Kausner of Clarence, whose sister Ellyce was aboard the flight, told The Buffalo News that after he heard about the crash, he called another sister who had gone to pick her up at the airport to see if her plane had landed.
“She said that they told them the plane had landed and was taxiing, but that was not the case,” he said.
Kausner said Ellyce was a law student at Florida Coastal University in Jacksonville and was coming home to visit…
article: 49 KILLED AS PLANE CRASHES INTO HOME IN CLARENCE CENTER
From Reuters…
A local official said the plane was a 74-seat Bombardier Q400, a turboprop plane. The plane is made by Bombardier Inc. Colgan Air is a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp
article: PLANE CRASHES IN NEW YORK STAE, 49 DEAD
Aviation (a publication) just released this article on the 74 seater Bombardier Q400 as an improvement to Continental’s fleet and the frequent delays suffered from Newark’s airport.
article: 74 SEAT BOMBARDIER Q400
Continental Airlines expects its new fleet of Bombardier Q400 regional airliners to produce a welter of operational benefits at its Newark Liberty hub — including reducing delays to the airline’s flights from the airport, one of the most congested in the United States.
Bigger, more fuel efficient and just as quiet and fast as the 35-to-50-seat regional jets they will supplement and replace, Continental’s 74-seat Q400 turboprops — to be owned and operated by Continental Connection franchise partner Colgan Airways — will operate from Continental’s Newark and Cleveland hubs to 18 domestic destinations and two in Canada from Feb. 4.
“The Q400’s real benefit is obvious in Newark, with its runway and air traffic control challenges,” said David Kinzelman, Continental’s managing director for corporate development/alliance operations. “It’s a perfect aircraft to be able to do a couple of things. With congestion, it allows us to grow by adding capacity in the market, because it has 24 more seats” than the aircraft it is augmenting — and in come cases replacing…
…Another benefit is that, while the Q400 cruises at 440 mph and — measuring flight time from gate to gate — is competitive with a jet over sectors of up to 600 miles, it typically cruises at altitudes of 23,000 feet or 24,000 feet, said Kinzelman. These flight levels are 10,000 to 15,000 feet lower than the altitudes at which jets normally cruise…
…Continental Connection Q400 services start on Feb. 4 with flights to Albany and Rochester, N.Y., Baltimore, Md. and Pittsburgh, Pa., with flights to Raleigh/Durham, N.C., and Norfolk, Va. beginning on Feb. 14 when Colgan receives two more Q400s, said Kinzelman. Colgan Air will take delivery of all 15 firmly ordered Q400s before the end of June, by which time the fleet will be serving all 20 initially planned destinations.
I’m sure more details and stories from families affected will unfold throughout the day today. If you learn of anything please share in a comment.
My condolences and heartfelt prayers to those affected by those 49 lives lost. Thank you to the fire fighters who quickly responded and police presence who helped evacuate and contain the area. Your efforts are heroic as well.
Do events like this make or increase your fear of flying?
If you’re flying in the next day or so, are your tensions higher?
Are there any pilots out there with info they can share to ease the minds of us weary travelers?
Do you think Continental will pull these recently added aircraft from their fleet?
