Continental Express plane down..49 dead

[ohioNCLcruiser]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/13/plane.crash.new.york/index.html

[Abbyroo]

The crash site is about 5 miles from our office, close to the airport. Planes fly over our building as they land and take off. Not a comforting event for us.

 

Two female family members escaped the burning home. At this time, there is speculation that ice on the plane's wings could have been a cause of the crash. Weather is always dicey at this time of year.

 

The fire burned for many hours and there could be no way anyone could survive. NTSB will investigate today. Some roads closed in the Clarence Center area as well as schools today.

 

This is a very sad Friday for everyone in this area.

 

Ruth

[Bramcruiser]

News like this is always devastating especially for anyone closely involved. Toronto, Canada is only a two hour drive away and its been all over our news all morning. Buffalo is an alternative airport to those who want to fly cheaper within the US than to fly directly out of Canada - thus its a very popular jumping off point for many up here. Condolescences from up north as well.

 

David

[kenish]

Condolences to everyone affected. It's a devastating loss for all the families, but the story of the 9/11 widow killed in the crash was saddest of all.

 

15-20 years ago a somewhat similar American Eagle turboprop (an ATR-42) crashed on initial approach to Chicago. It exposed vulnerabilities that turboprops have in icing conditions. Design standards were improved (I think this plane, a Bombardier Q400 uses the newer standard). Also, flight procedures and ATC handling of turboprops in icing was changed to expedite descent through icing conditions.

 

Of course, icing is a likely but speculative cause. An almost bigger headline is this is the first fatal airline accident in the US for over 2 years. There were some recent close-calls...the Continental in DEN and the USAirways into the Hudson.

[scottbee]

Condolences to everyone affected. It's a devastating loss for all the families, but the story of the 9/11 widow killed in the crash was saddest of all.

 

15-20 years ago a somewhat similar American Eagle turboprop (an ATR-42) crashed on initial approach to Chicago. It exposed vulnerabilities that turboprops have in icing conditions. Design standards were improved (I think this plane, a Bombardier Q400 uses the newer standard). Also, flight procedures and ATC handling of turboprops in icing was changed to expedite descent through icing conditions.

 

The DHC-8 series of aircraft (including the Q400) have proven themselves to be extremely safe aircraft, with this representing only the 4th accident with a loss of life (and 650+ sold). Contrast that with modern commercial aircraft flying , and it's quite stunning how good it is. By comparison, ATR42/72 which has sold fewer a/c and 11 accidents with loss of life. Even comparing apples to oranges, the 767 has a similar accident rate to the DHC-8 (900+ sold, 6 accidents with loss of life).

 

Please don't be concerned if you're booked on a Q400, or any other aircraft, they're all incredibly safe.

[lovesublime]

The DHC-8 series of aircraft (including the Q400) have proven themselves to be extremely safe aircraft, with this representing only the 4th accident with a loss of life (and 650+ sold). Contrast that with modern commercial aircraft flying , and it's quite stunning how good it is. By comparison, ATR42/72 which has sold fewer a/c and 11 accidents with loss of life. Even comparing apples to oranges, the 767 has a similar accident rate to the DHC-8 (900+ sold, 6 accidents with loss of life).

 

Please don't be concerned if you're booked on a Q400, or any other aircraft, they're all incredibly safe.

 

 

Thanks for posting. My son works for Horizon and flies the Q400. They are extremely high tech, safe and comfortable. I can't stand when people (who know nothing about aviation) assume that turboprops are somehow less safe than jets.

[kenish]

Sorry if the wording of my post misled. I'm a pilot (light aircraft, instrument rating) and agree that turboprops are not unsafe simply because they have propellers! Every type of aircraft (helicopter, light pistons, turboprops, widebody airlines, bizjets, etc) has unique limitations and vulnerabilities. I was commenting that icing is a vulnerability of turboprops...fact, not opinion...and that design and ATC procedures have been improved to deal with it. If icing proves to be root cause of this accident, there will be another cycle of improvement. That's what makes aviation so safe.

 

Part of my earlier post was overlooked. I said the Q400 conforms to the latest icing standards. I like the aircraft as a passenger and prefer it to most large airliners. Something pretty cool about Q400- Q=Quiet, there are microphones distributed in the cabin that sense engine and prop noise. They feed a system that generates "anti-noise" that is sent to cabin speakers. It's the same principle as noise-cancelling headsets, but applied to the whole passenger cabin and it works nicely.

[nho9504]

http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kb...2009-0300Z.mp3

 

The female FO from CO 3407 read back instruction from ATC as the plane approaching BUF, but then apparently the plane disappeared from radar screen. She did not response at about 17min into the tape.

 

There was no stress call from CO 3407 before it fell off the radar. You can hear the controller calling it several times but no response. Then he asked a nearby DL to do a VFR. Negative... By the time another pilot called in to enquire if ATC knew anything ... they already knew, CO 3407 crashed.

 

CO 3407 is operated by Colgan airline as a commuter feed.

[deepnite10]

i feel so sick whenever there s a accident and

live s are lost..:(

[SelectSys]

... 15-20 years ago a somewhat similar American Eagle turboprop (an ATR-42) crashed on initial approach to Chicago. It exposed vulnerabilities that turboprops have in icing conditions. Design standards were improved (I think this plane, a Bombardier Q400 uses the newer standard). Also, flight procedures and ATC handling of turboprops in icing was changed to expedite descent through icing conditions.

 

Of course, icing is a likely but speculative cause. An almost bigger headline is this is the first fatal airline accident in the US for over 2 years. There were some recent close-calls...the Continental in DEN and the USAirways into the Hudson.

 

My condolences as well to the victims and their families.

 

I remember the ATR crash pretty well. AA pulled them all out of ORD and the north in general following this crash. I think the Saabs remained at ORD for a while longer before finally being replaced by the EMB's.

 

The Bombardier aircraft and those made by the previous owner de Havilland Canada have always been great aircraft in icing conditions. One of my own scariest moments in the air was on a DHC-7 flying from Bend to Portland Oregon in the winter. I was sitting under the wing and watched ice build up on the deicing boot as we crossed the over the mountains going to Portland. I have never been happier in an airplane as we started to descend for landing and the ice came free from the leading edge.

[ptcruzers]

We live about 9 miles from the crash site, and yes, it was a horrible incident- it will take a long time to extract all the casualties and the evidence needed to solve this one. Say a prayer for those who lost their lives.