Brussels Airlines Engine Failure over Senegal

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Contact Photographer Frank Robitaille

What: Continental Airlines Flight 3407, Bombardier Q400 turboprop operated by regional carrier Colgan Air en route from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo Niagara International Airport
Where: Clarence Center, New York.
When: Thursday Feb 12 2009 10 pm.
Who: 44 passengers and four crew members, 1 off-duty pilot, 1 person on the ground, all fatalities. The passenger manifest has not officially been released.
Why: The New Jersey-to-Buffalo flight was cleared to land on a runway pointing to the southwest. But the plane crashed with its nose pointed to the northeast. Seconds after two automatic warnings to the pilots that the plane was not moving fast enough to stay aloft, the twin turboprop aircraft went through a “severe pitch and roll” after positioning its flaps for a landing. It did not dive into the house, as initially thought, but landed flat on the house.

Although Icing is emerged as a factor for why flight 3047 fell, it has been found that the flight’s captain had lied on his job application to Colgan Air and only reported one of three failed FAA check rides. The co-pilot who could not afford to live in NY on her salary had flight-hopped across the country from Seattle and is recorded mentioning “a couch with her name on it.” The FAA investigators believe pilots made errors that contributed to the crash.