48 passengers killed in US air crash

Agencies

New York: All 48 people on board a plane were killed when it crashed into a house near New York here on Friday.

A Continental Connection flight operated by Colgan Air was on a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo with 44 passengers and four crew on board when it crashed in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence Center amid rain and sleet, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

Erie County Executive Chris Collins said all 48 people on board the plane were killed. One person was killed in the house while two others escaped with minor injuries, he said.

Colgan Air said the plane was a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400. The plane is a turboprop regional aircraft that can carry more than 70 people, and is made by Bombardier Inc. Colgan Air is a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp.

According to sources there was little communication between the plane and the tower before the crash. The crew members on the flight from Newark Airport had reported mechanical problems as they approached Buffalo.

An aviation source with knowledge of the incident said there was no distress call from the crew.

Thursday's crash came less than a month after the successful crash landing of a US Airways jetliner on the Hudson River in New York City. All 155 people on board survived after the plane struck birds that were sucked into both engines and pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger brought the plane down on the river. Passengers and crew were rescued by ferry boats.