[Yogi]

http://www.edmontonsun.


February 13, 2009


49 killed in Buffalo air crash

By THE CANADIAN PRESS





Firefighters pour water on a fire on Clarence Center Road involving an airplane and a home Thursday Feb. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/The Buffalo News)

BUFFALO, New York - A Canadian-made commuter aircraft crashed into a home and exploded northeast of Buffalo, New York Thursday night, killing all 48 people on the plane and at least one person on the ground.

New York State police confirmed the grim news about two hours after the crash of the Continental Connection flight.

The aircraft is a model of the Canadian-made Bombardier Dash-8 and was carrying 44 passengers and four crew members on a flight from Newark, N.J., to Buffalo.

At least one person on the ground in Clarence, 32 kilometres from Buffalo, was killed and at least two others were injured and taken to hospital.

One local city official said the crew of the aircraft radioed the Buffalo tower that it was having mechanical problems. However, emergency officials at the scene could not confirm that.

One witness told a Buffalo television station that the plane "nose-dived into the ground."


The turbo-prop aircraft burst into flames on impact and set the house on fire.

Another witness said he heard the plane fly low over his house and crash.

"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.

The flames were still burning two hours after the crash.

Continental Airlines says the plane, operated by Manassas, Va.-based Colgan Air, was operating between Newark Liberty International Airport and Buffalo Niagara International Airport.



Fixed!