Clues point to ice as factor in fatal plane crash

A commuter plane that smashed into a house apparently plunged flat to the ground rather than nose-diving, ending up pointed away from the airport it was trying to reach, US investigators said.

Investigators did not offer an explanation as to why the plane ended up pointed away from the Buffalo airport, but it does raise the possibility the pilots were fighting an icy airplane: air safety guidelines say pilots can try a 180-degree turn to rid a plane of ice.

Other possible explanations are that the aircraft was spinning or flipped upon impact.

Flight data showed the plane’s safety systems warned the pilot that the aircraft was perilously close to losing lift and plummeting from the sky.

The ensuing crash killed 49 people on the plane and one in the house.

Continental Connection Flight 3407 was cleared to land on a runway pointing to the southwest, but it crashed with its nose pointed northeast, said Steve Chealander, a National Transportation Safety Board member.

The Newark, New Jersey-to-Buffalo flight didn’t nose-dive into the house, as initially reported by some witnesses, Mr Chealander said.

It will take as many as four days to remove human remains from the site, which he called an “excavation”.

“Keep in mind, there’s an airplane that fell on top of a house, and they’re now intermingled,” he said.

The plane – on its descent to Buffalo Niagara International Airport in a light snow and mist – plunged suddenly about six miles shy of the runway and exploded.

A “stick shaker” and “stick pusher” mechanism had activated to warn Captain Marvin Renslow that the plane was about to lose aerodynamic lift, a condition called a stall. When the “stick pusher” engaged, it would have pointed the nose of the plane toward the ground to try to increase lift.

Crash investigators picked through incinerated wreckage, gathering evidence to determine what brought down the plane. Icing on the aircraft is suspected to have played a role, but officials have stopped short of calling that the cause.

Mr Chealander said indicator lights showed the deicing equipment was working and that investigators who examined both engines said it appears they were working normally at the time of the crash.

Experts were analysing data from the black boxes, including statements by crew members about a buildup of ice on the wings and windshield of the plane, Mr Chealander said.

If a deicing system isn’t working, guidelines from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation say pilots can take a number of steps, including changing speed, pulling the nose up or down, or trying a 180-degree turn.