Pilots on Continental Flight Reported Ice Just Before Fatal Crash

Just minutes before Continental Flight 3407 took its near-vertical plunge to devastation this past weekend, pilots of the Buffalo-bound Bombadier Dash 8 Q400, which is a Canadian-built airliner, spoke of "significant ice buildup" on the wings of the plane. When the plane crashed, all 49 aboard were killed, and one man in a house that was demolished by the aircraft also perished in the fiery crash.
 

Flight 3407's cockpit voice recorder, which has been recovered and pilots are heard discussing the "significant ice buildup on the windshield and leading edge of the wings," will be quite helpful to the NTSB. The United States National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the remnants of the plane and crash site, and it could take months, maybe years, to have a full report explaining what led to the crash.
 

The flight was a routine, one-hour flight from Newark, NJ to Buffalo. Prior to crashing to the ground, the plane went through a series of violent maneuvers, rolling and pitching to and fro.
 

When pilots are faced with ice buildup, there are options to consider including seeking warmer air, increasing speed, and requesting higher altitudes. By continuing to fly low and slow in preparation for landing, it's been suggested the crew did not realize the danger they were in; even a paper thin layer of ice can seriously affect an aircraft's ability to fly properly and safely.
 

The data from the digital flight recorder will give NTSB investigators the information they need to sort out the details of what, specifically, led to the fiery crash.