Buffalo Flight's De-Icing 'Antiquated:' Suit

Flight recorders found; cause of crash still unknown

(NEWSER) - Nothing went wrong on Flight 3407 until 26 seconds before the plane slammed into the ground. But in that time, it fell more than 20 times faster than normal, at one point dropping 800 feet in 5 seconds, the Buffalo News reports. Black box recorders found on the ground in Buffalo show that crew members couldn't regain control of the plane after it started rolling and dipping. More»

Flight 3407 transcript released ahead of public hearing

(AP) - Just seconds before the worst US air crash in more than 7 years, the pilot exclaimed "Jesus Christ" and moments later his first officer screamed as Flight 3407 plunged to the ground. A cockpit voice-recorder transcript released today shows that only minutes before the Feb. 12 crash outside Buffalo, Captain Marvin Renslow and First Officer Rebecca Shaw chatted about her career and shared their fear of flying in icy weather. More»

Their training, experience is under scrutiny

(NEWSER) - Pilot error, not icing, appears to have caused the Continental Airlines crash in Buffalo that killed 50 people Feb. 12, an investigation report released today states. When a warning device alerted pilots they were flying too slowly, they pulled the plane’s nose up—rather than down, as pilots are trained to do—and disrupted airflow above the wings, reports USA Today. More»

Had booked ticket on doomed Buffalo flight

(NEWSER) - Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM, is finished with planes, TMZ reports. Not only was he badly burned in a plane crash last year, but the DJ had a ticket for the Continental commuter flight that crashed near Buffalo last month, killing everyone on board. Goldstein didn’t board the flight at the last minute because he had a bad feeling about it. Goldstein says he’ll drive to all future performances. More»

(NEWSER) - Add this to the mix in the Buffalo plane crash: Southwest Airlines warned its pilots just weeks ago about a landing glitch involving the same runway the Continental flight was destined for, CNN reports. It seems an earthen dam near the runway interferes with signals in a so-called instruments landing, used during low visibility. The glitch could cause a plane's nose to pitch upward, generally consistent with the Buffalo circumstances. More»