Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 13, 2009; 1:44 AM
Authorities say 49 people are dead after a regional commuter plane, carrying at least 44 passengers and 4 crew members, crashed into a home in suburban Clarence, N.Y., near the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
State police spokeswoman Rebecca Gibbons confirmed early Friday the 48 deaths aboard Continental Connection flight 3407, operated by Manassas, Va.-based Colgan Air.
Clarence emergency control director Dave Bissonet says the crash also killed one person on the ground.
The airplane, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, apparently was set to land on a specified runway at the airport under weather conditions that include light snow. Video from local television reports showed fire fighters battling blazes at a crash site. The flight was bound to Buffalo from Newark's Liberty International Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board is preparing a team of investigators to leave from the Washington region at 6 a.m.
Colgan Air, is a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines. Colgan operates planes under the Continental Connection, United Express and US Airways Express names. It has operations in Boston, Houston, New York, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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