Death Toll Rises to 50 In Plane Crash

Apparently there was another person on board Flight #3407 that crashed in Clarence, NY.  An off duty pilot was flying back to Buffalo along with the 44 passengers and 4 crew members that lost their lives.  A man who lived in the house hit by the plane also lost his life, however, the man's wife and adult daughter escaped with minor injuries and are being treated at a local hospital.

Speculation is turning toward weather being a factor, but authorities have not ruled anything out.  Another plane landing around the time of the accident reported some icing.  Freezing rain was also reported on the ground around that time.

One eyewitness reported to local news channel WKBW seeing flames in the engine area prior to the crash.  Other eyewitnesses have reported the plane did not "sound right."

The plane went down around 5 miles from the runways at Buffalo Airport.  The plane was completing the approximately 300 mile trip from Newark, NJ.

The Plane in question was a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 that may have been carrying as much as 1,000 gallons of fuel at impact.  Normally planes try to carry as little fuel as possible to safely make their flights, but due to fuel costs this one may have been fully fueled when it left Newark.