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Southwest Airlines has issued a warning to its pilots about a potential hazard on the Buffalo Airport runway – the same runway Continental Flight 3407 was to land on last week.

According to the alert, there may be an obstruction on the runway that can impact equipment used by planes coming in for a landing, this impact could lead to the pilot slowing the plane down to an unsafe speed. The hazard can affect planes on autopilot and can result in the aircraft's nose pitching up to a 30 degree angle. Evidence from the data recorder recovered from Flight 3407's crash site shows that the nose of the aircraft pitched up by approximately 31 degrees as the plane automatically began to dive trying gain speed.

Among the many theories about the crash of Continental Flight 3407 is the idea that the pilot overreacted after the plane automatically began to dive, in order to generate speed. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has denied that these ground anomalies at Buffalo Niagara International Airport have any link to the Continental crash. According to FAA representatives, Southwest aircraft do not used the same route used by Flight 3407 to get to that particular runway. The FAA has, apparently, been aware of the ground obstruction hazard, Southwest mentions in its alert, for the past 8 years. According to the FAA representative, Southwest uses terrain on the northern side of the airport that can generate abnormalities in aircraft signals.

Meanwhile, the mystery of the pitching of the aircraft's nose is becoming a vital part of investigations in the Continental crash. The team is looking at understanding pilot and crew behavior in the moments just before the crash of Flight 3407. For investigators, that could be the toughest part of the probe; any audio information recovered from aircraft black boxes after a crash is notoriously hard to decipher. It's rare for a black box recording to reveal strong clues about the pilot's intent, his plans and his state of mind in the moments before the aviation accident. Investigating what the crew of the doomed flight was thinking or planning just before the crash can take months of decoding the grunts, curt comments and mumbles of the crew just before the crash.

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Other pilots' experiences and evidence of the Buffalo airline accident that killed 50 people, points away from mechanical failure and toward icing and pilot actions as the cause of the catastrophe.

Just before the crash, the Colgan Air crew of Continental Connection Flight 3407 reported icing on the windshield, about a minute later the plane stalled, pitching and rolling violently, and fell to the ground within 26 seconds. According to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Steve Chealander, "Everything that's found thus far on the engine is consistent with high-powered flight," meaning, the plane's engine was running correctly.

Another Colgan turboprop that flew through the area about half an hour after Flight 3407 reported "moderate" icing and landed safely. Also, 50 miles south of the accident site, another flight crew reported the most dangerous category of icing, "severe," this crew also landed without incident.

In accordance with NTSB recommendations, the presence of ice in and around the area Flight 3407 went down in indictes that pilot, Capt. Marvin Renslow, should have been flying the plane manually. Instead, as the plane flew through dangerous weather, it was on autopilot, leaving Renslow with less than desireable feel for the plane. While the NTSB recommends that planes be flown manually in any icy conditions, the Federal Aviation Administration (FFA) says aircraft are safe on autopilot in "light to moderate icing," This discrepency in regulations is at the top of the NTSB's list of standards for the FAA to change.

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National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators look into the possibility of pilot error in the Colgan Air/Continental Flight 3407 accident.

Lorenda Ward, an NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator and Continental Flight 3407 accident investigator in charge, has "not concluded anything", but has suggested that the pilot may have over reacted when the plane's internal automatic safety system responded to a dangerous decrease in speed. As the plane's safety system sensed the decrease it tried to push the nose downward to avoid losing lift and regain speed. At this time, it is thought that the pilot, Capt. Marvin Renslow, may have over corrected, pulling back on the controls too severely, ultimately causing the plane to stall.

Also, against Colgan Air and the NTSB's recommendations, the plane was on autopilot while experiencing "significant ice." According to a Decmeber safety alert issued by the NTSB, pilots should operate aircraft manually when in icy conditions to better feel the changes in the handling quality of the plane.

Capt. Marvin Renslow had only 110 hours of experience flying the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and only 3,400 flight hours total. Federal investigators will look into his and his co-pilot's actions in the days leading up to the flight to ensure they had the proper rest and personal management necessary to conduct an aircraft.

In addition to ongoing leads, investigators are looking to other pilots who were flying in the area during the time of the accident for reports on weather conditions, how they handled the weather and any other information that may help them understand what went wrong aboard Continental Flight 3407.

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A former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairman has called for the grounding of all turboprop planes similar to the one involved in the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in Buffalo last Thursday.

Jim Hall, who served as the chairman of the NTSB from 1994 to 2001 said that the Federal Aviation Administration should “ground all aircraft of this type until the NTSB investigation is completed”. Hall was speaking in reference to speculation that the turboprop plane that crashed into a Buffalo home had ice build up on its wings prior to the crash.

Ice accumulation on a plane, especially on the wings, often occurs in small planes that fly at lower altitudes. Such ice accumulation can cause problems with the lift of the plane, causing the plane to stall. Even a light smattering of snow can be sufficient to disrupt air flow over a plane’s wings. Aviation experts believe that turboprop planes are more prone to the dangers of ice build up because their de-icing systems are not as effective as the ones used on larger jets. The NTSB has issued several safety alerts cautioning pilots about the dangers of icing. Another problem that turboprop planes face is ice accumulation on the aircraft's wings and tail; such ice build up can cause the plane to suddenly nosedive.

According to Hall, turboprops have a tendency to be less safe, especially while flying in icy conditions, because they tend to fly at lower speeds than large jets. This makes it easy for ice to collect on the wings. Hall also criticized the old de-icing technology that exists on these smaller planes. Turboprop planes are equipped with inflatable de-icing "boots" to get rid of ice, and the system, he believes, is not as effective as the heated wing systems commonly used in large jetliners.

The FAA, however, defended the record of the Q400 Bombardier aircraft and said that there are no reasons to ground the planes. Meanwhile, representatives of the major airlines, Delta, United and American, have not yet confirmed whether they will be reconsidering the use of turboprop planes in icy conditions.

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The turboprop plane of the type that crashed at Clarence Center in Buffalo, has had no serious accidents reported in the past, but has had some safety issues.

According to the Telegraph, the same Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 aircraft that was involved in the Buffalo crash of Continental Flight 3407 was also named in two separate Scandinavian Airlines crash landings two years ago. Neither of those two crashes resulted in fatalities, but they occurred within a few days of each other in September of 2007, and as a result, the airline grounded the aircraft.   In two separate incidents in Lithuania and Denmark, the same Q400 aircraft suffered a sudden crumpling of its landing gear. After the second such landing gear incident in Denmark, Scandinavian Airlines permanently grounded its fleet of 27 Q400s.

The airline has settled with the Montreal-based company for a total of $120 million, including credit on future aircraft purchases from Bombardier. The Canadian company has insisted that the Buffalo crash was the first serious and fatal crash involving a Q400, but has not denied that there have been several safety issues in the past.   The company has recommended that airlines undertake routine grounding and checking of all Q400s that have clocked more than 10,000 hours of flying. The Q400 that crashed in Buffalo however, was just about a year old, and had flown just 1500 hours. The company has confirmed that its safety team will be heading to the crash site to assist in investigations.

Turboprop planes of the kind that crashed in Buffalo tend to be safe for the most part, aviation accident experts say, but they can face problems with de-icing. While larger aircraft have more sophisticated de-icing systems, turboprop planes have to be maneuvered by pilots to cope with severe icing conditions. According to figures by Flight International, despite the fact that there are four times as many jet flights as there are turboprop flights, these smaller planes have been involved in nine fatal aviation crashes last year, compared to six involving larger jets.

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Late Thursday night about 6 miles from Buffalo, NY pilots of a commuter plane mentioned "significant ice buildup" on the plane's wings and windshield just before it smashed into the ground killing all 49 people on board and one man on the ground.

Continental Flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air, was en route from Newark, NJ to Buffalo Niagara International Airport when the crew began to discuss ice buildup on the "windshield and leading edge of the wings." At this point the co-pilot and first officer sounded calm as she talked to air traffic control. The crew, reportedly, turned on the plane's pneumatic icing boots, which expand, breaking any ice collected at the wings' edges; this de-icing system is said to be very sophisticated. Soon after, they dropped off the radar and air traffic controllers began asking planes flying nearby if they could see any sign of the aircraft; there was no response.

At 10:20 p.m. ET the plane crashed into a home and burst into flames killing everyone on board as well as Doug Wielinski; his wife and daughter, although trapped beneath the rubble, made it out of the house with minor injuries. Because the plane hit only the Wielinski's house, there are speculations that the plane was at an extreme angle. One witness described the plane's nose as "lower than usual."

According to reports by Steve Chealander of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), "the flight's cockpit voice and data recorders indicated that the plane underwent 'severe' pitching and rolling motions after the landing gear was lowered and wing flaps were set for approach." He also explained that the crew attempted to reset the flaps shortly before the recordings ended. More shockingly, it has been reported that the plane was in autopilot when it went down, this is against airline regulations. In icy conditions it is recommended that pilots fly planes manually, in severe ice, however, pilots are required to do so.

Although other flights in the air at the time reported icing, they all landed safely. Chealander added that there was snow and mist as they descended and that "a significant ice buildup is an aerodynamic impediment."

Victims of the accident include: Marvin Renslow, Douglas Wielinski, Gerry Niewood, Coleman Mellett, Rebecca Shaw, Alison Des Forges, Susan Wehle, Beverly Eckert, Lorin Maurer, Madeline Loftus and Mary Pettys.

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The role of pilot error in the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in Buffalo, New York last week hasn’t been determined yet, but it is a fact that pilots who work for smaller airlines like Colgan Air which had been responsible for the operation of Flight 3407, often have less flying experience than pilots who fly for major airlines.

Colgan Air's pilot for instance, had just 3½ years of experience, and had clocked in 3,400 flight hours. His co-pilot had been flying for just about a year and a half at the time of the plane crash.   An average American Airlines pilot, in contrast, has about 18 years of service, and has typically clocked several thousands of hours on the job. Additionally, a regional airline may hire a new pilot who has just about 2,000 hours of flying experience. In times of great demand for pilots, those rules may even be relaxed.  At the major airlines, however, new pilots are required to have between 5,000 and 6,000 flying hours to their credit. That difference in work experience is also mirrored in the salaries that these pilots earn. A pilot with a small, feeder, regional airline can earn as little as $18,000 a year. Colgan Air's co-pilots make about $27,000 yearly, and captains with the airline make $58,000 per year, data shows. In comparison, American Airlines pay their pilots about $138,000 annually. 

These airlines typically link big metros to smaller towns and cities nearby, and because their pilots operate shorter flights, they have to work a greater number of days to make up their quota which is typically about 83 hours per month.  Regional carrier pilots insist that the lack of flying hours does not, in any way, indicate a lack of experience. They are after all, used to frequent take offs and landings, several times in a day in many cases, and are comfortable flying in all kinds of weather conditions. The fact however, is that as recently as a month ago, Colgan Air had a listing on its website for co pilots. The ad required applicants to have a minimum of just 600 flying hours.

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