CLARENCE, N.Y. – A fire official says a commuter plane coming in for a landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport "basically dove right into the top" of a house in a fiery explosion that killed all 48 people on board and one person on the ground.
Representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board were expected in Buffalo at 6 a.m. Friday to investigate the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407.
The plane plummeted into a house about five miles from the airport around 10:20 p.m. Thursday. The airplane operated by Colgan Air was flying from Newark Liberty International Airport.
Clarence emergency control director Dave Bissonette says it "dove" into the house, remarkably missing neighboring homes in the Buffalo suburb.
_________________ "No matter how hard you kill Jesus, he would always just come back and hit you twice as hard."
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
would love to know the cause. NTSB officials arriving right now, news says.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
as terrible as it is, this is first deadly commercial airliner crash in the u.s. in nearly three years, i think.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
warehouse wrote:
corduroy_blazer wrote:
as terrible as it is, this is first deadly commercial airliner crash in the u.s. in nearly three years, i think.
isnt it statistically the safest way to travel?
think so.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
PeopleMyAge wrote:
it's pretty eerie how one of the women who died was a widow of a man who died on 9/11...it was his fiftieth birthday (i believe)
oh my GOD.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:41 pm Posts: 7563 Location: Calgary, AB Gender: Male
PeopleMyAge wrote:
it's pretty eerie how one of the women who died was a widow of a man who died on 9/11...it was his fiftieth birthday (i believe)
This has got an eery "Final Destination" vibe to it.
9/11 widow among Buffalo flight victims
CLARENCE CENTER, New York (CNN) -- Friends, relatives and acquaintances were shocked to hear the news that Beverly Eckert, the widow of a September 11 victim, was aboard the Continental flight to Buffalo, New York, that crashed Thursday night.
A resident of Stamford, Connecticut, Eckert was the widow of Buffalo native Sean Rooney, who died at the World Trade Center. After that attack, Eckert co-founded "Voices of September 11," an advocacy group for survivors and 9/11 families.
Valerie Lucznikowska, a member of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, said Friday she was "horribly saddened" by news of the Buffalo crash.
Lucznikowska said she, Eckert and another woman traveled to Washington last Friday for a meeting between 9/11 family members and President Barack Obama.
Speaking at the White House on Friday, Obama said Eckert was aboard the doomed airplane. He called her a "tireless advocate" of 9/11 families.
Lucznikowska called Eckert "truly a wonderful person. She was someone who was trying to make society better."
Lucznikowska, whose nephew died in the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, said Eckert asked Obama whether the group would have ongoing meetings with his administration. Obama said meetings would continue, even though they wouldn't necessarily be with him.
Eckert backed Peaceful Tomorrows' effort to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and end the military commissions there, Lucznikowska said. The group elaborated on this stance in a signed letter to Obama, and Eckert gave a presidential aide a separate letter listing her own concerns, Lucznikowska said.
She was traveling to Buffalo for a weekend celebration of what would have been her husband's 58th birthday, according to the Buffalo News -- the first news agency to report her presence on the fatal flight.
The newspaper quoted Eckert's sister, Sue Bourque, as saying: "We know she was on that plane," even though the family hadn't received official confirmation.
Eckert also planned to take part in presenting a scholarship award at Canisius High School that was established in honor of her late husband, who was a Canisius alumni, according to the school's president, John Knight.
Knight said he couldn't confirm Eckert's presence on the plane. However, he said, the school postponed the scholarship presentation that had been scheduled for Friday. He said Eckert also had been active in a capital campaign fund-raising effort.
"She struck me as a wonderful, beautiful person who clearly wanted to do something to remember her husband in a way that would have an everlasting impact on our community," Knight said.
Jay Winuk, who lost his brother in the World Trade Center attacks, said Eckert was "a terrific advocate for the 9/11 family community."
Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed late Thursday about seven miles northeast of Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all 49 passengers and crew members aboard and one person on the ground.
Also on the plane was Ellyce Kausner, 24, her brother Chris confirmed. The Buffalo News reported that she was a graduate of Clarence High School and Canisius College, who was studying law at Florida Coastal University in Jacksonville.
"My parents are on vacation in Florida, and I had to call down there and tell my father what was going on," Chris Kausner told CNN affiliate WIVB-TV.
When asked how his parents were handling the news, a shaken Kausner responded: "To tell you the truth, I heard my mother make a sound that I have never heard before." Watch victim's brother discuss delivering tragic news »
The Erie County Medical Examiner's Office established a command post at the scene and had investigators there, a statement from the office said. Officials said relatives of passengers aboard the flight should call 800-621-3263 for information
_________________ Straight outta line
Quote:
For a vegetarian, Rents, you're a fuckin' EVIL shot!
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2005 4:52 pm Posts: 770 Location: New York City Via Buffalo NY
my parents still live in clarence and i grew up there. They are ok even though they live very close to the scene.
very sad story and the 9/11 widow is a terrible story on top of a horrible situation.
As they release more names, it'll all sink in. Buffalo is a tight knit community and the word is most people on the flight were from Buffalo. Keep the area in your thoughts.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 5:22 am Posts: 1603 Location: Buffalo
The house is right down the street from my co-workers house. She's freaking out a little bit, thinking it easily could have been her and her three kids. Very sad.
Kevman wrote:
my parents still live in clarence and i grew up there. They are ok even though they live very close to the scene.
very sad story and the 9/11 widow is a terrible story on top of a horrible situation.
As they release more names, it'll all sink in. Buffalo is a tight knit community and the word is most people on the flight were from Buffalo. Keep the area in your thoughts.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum