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The National Transportation Safety Board retrieved the flight data recorders—aka the "black boxes"—from Continental Flight 3407, which crashed just outside of Buffalo in Clarence Center, NY last night. All 49 passengers and crew members were killed, as was one person on the ground, whose home was leveled by the commuter plane (an apparently new Bombardier Q400). Governor Paterson visited the crash site and said, "We're all connected, and we find out how connected we are on days like this." This was the first commercial American airline accident with fatalities since August 2006.
The plane took off from Newark Airport and was scheduled to land in Buffalo around 10:45 p.m. (including delays), but the plane crashed at around 10:20 p.m. 20 miles northeast of Buffalo. While the NTSB would not give a cause for the crash, NTSB member Steven Chealander shared some details, "The crew discussed significant ice buildup, ice on the windshield and leading edge of the wings." From the NY Times:
One minute before the end of the tapes, “the landing gear were placed down,” Mr. Chealander said. “Twenty seconds later, the flaps were selected to 15,” Mr. Chealander said, referring to a position on the flaps to help slow the airplane’s speed for landing.Air traffic control had been in contact with the plane, but then, as Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority spokesman Doug Hartmayer told reporters, "The plane simply dropped off the radar screen."“The flight director shows a series of severe pitch and roll excursions within seconds of the 15-flap command” coming down,” the safety board member said. “After that, the crew attempted to raise the gear and flaps just before the end of the recording.”
The victim on the ground was 61-year-old Douglas C. Wielinski. His wife and daughter escaped the house with minor injuries. A resident who was driving at the time told the Buffalo News, "It was a bad, bad impact. It was hot, and the explosion was massive. I couldn't see anyone surviving it."
One of the victims was Beverly Eckhart, a Stamford resident who became an advocate for the families of September 11, 2001 victims. Her husband Sean Rooney, a Buffalo native, was killed at the World Trade Center, and she was flying to Buffalo to celebrate what would have been his 58th birthday as well as give a scholarship in his name to a high school student. Rep. Carolyn Maloney worked with Eckhart, who was co-chairwoman of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee, “My thoughts and prayers are with her family and the thousands of Americans whose lives she touched... Beverly turned her grief at the loss of her husband into action that helped make our country a safer place, and for that all Americans owe her a debt of gratitude.”
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Not funny at all. May G-d rest their souls.
gAd?
The remark "Not funny at all" was aimed at FT's obnoxious remark that has been removed by Gothamist.
It's high time for a troll to be banned from Gothamist.
sO MUCH FOR THE "sPIRIT OF 76" HUH?
The comment about banning a troll refers to a second, even more offensive remark from FT that was removed by Gothamist. His comments are all worthless trolling that never contribute to the discussions and there would not be any loss if he was banned.
Jen, it wasn't the first American airplane accident with fatalities since August 2006. It was the first commercial accident since August 2006. There have been several deadly private plane crashes (among them, Cory Lidle's crash in October 2006), but commercial aviation has been fatality-free since the Conair crash in Lexington in August 2006.
Yep, the word 'airplane' accident in that sentence probably should have been 'airline,' as it is in the headline of the linked article.
"Flying machine" covers all bases.
THIS IS ALMOST IDENTICAL to an accident which occurred on 12/26/89, (See United Express Flt. #2415 from Yakima, WA to Pasco, WA) right down to the time of night.
That aircraft was also a turboprop, albeit a British Aerospace Jetstream 31. The crash occurred on their final approach to Pasco, immediately after they extended full flaps. ICE STALLED THE TAIL, and the airplane nosedived almost straight down and exploded, killing all six aboard.
The problem with the Dash 8 and other large T-Tail-type aircraft is that they are HIGHLY PRONE to deep stalls. (See F-101 Voodoo).
When a large T-Tail is on a low-speed aircraft (such as a piston or turboprop), there is simply not enough airflow over the tail to provide an acceptable margin of error, in the case of low-speed operation.
When the shape of this type of tail is modified, even slightly, low speed control is almost completely eliminated.
Dash 8 aircraft are perfectly safe in warmer climates, and I wouldn't hesitate to board one in, say, Florida. However, flying these things in northern latitudes in the winter is dangerous and foolhardy.
You would expect it to handle ice, since it is made in Canada by a company that started as a snowmobile company.
While Canada is certainly colder than the U.S., few parts of it get the kind of lake effect snows that pummel the Southern Great Lakes region. There have been severe snowstorms in the Buffalo area while just 60 miles north, in Toronto,all they get is a couple of inches. Not that this is really the key factor in the crash. There will be many questions about that crew and its handling of the situation since the weather was not extreme and numerous other flights came into Buffalo that night with little trouble.Trotter makes some excellent points and the investigation is in its infancy. God rest all who perished aboard that flight.
No aircraft are made to "handle ice". At best, they are equipped with de-icing boots and anti-icing mechanisms, i.e., heated leading edges, props, windshields, etc.
Even a small amount of ice on the leading edges can cause flow separation and a sudden change in attitude when different inputs are applied. It's critically important to remember that what works for wing stall may intensify a tail stall. In a wing stall recovery, the pilot relaxes back-pressure or pushes the yoke forward to reduce the angle of attack and increase airspeed and regain control.
Responses associated with tail stall recovery are counterintuitive to what student pilots are taught. The stall symptoms are similar, but the recovery is absolutely different: Pull the yoke back (which might take great force); raise the flaps, if lowered; and reduce or be judicious with the power. The NASA pilots say a tail stall talks to you through the yoke; a wing stall you feel in the seat of your pants.
Tail stalls almost always occur with flap extension or at the high speed limit for flap extension.
And a tail stall can sneak up on you. Icing doesn't always show up on the windscreen. If you feel buffet in the yoke and a lightening in the controls that leads to PIO (Pilot-Induced Oscillation), you most likely have tailplane ice. It's possible to have very little ice on the wing and significant accumulation on the horizontal tail. Any ice will affect how the airplane flies; to what degree is unknown.
A Horrible accident, my condolences to the families.
From the reports, it sounds like something catastrophic happened suddenly at just the wrong time.
RIP to all the victims of this tragedy.
It puts into perspective the miracle of flight 1549 when it was ditched into the Hudson and everyone survived.