February 13, 2009

CLARENCE, N.Y — A commuter plane "basically dove" into a house while coming in for a landing outside Buffalo, sparking a fiery explosion and killing all 48 people on board and one person on the ground.

It was the first fatal crash of a commercial airliner in the U.S. 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.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, said there was no indication terrorism was involved. "All indications are that this was an air-safety event," said spokeswoman Amy Kudwa. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of crash investigators to Buffalo early Friday. Hours after the crash, the task of retrieving remains had not yet begun.