A Celtic Prayer

MY SOUL'S HEALER

My soul's Healer,
Keep me at even,
Keep me at morning,
Keep me at noon,
On rough course faring,
Help and safeguard
My means this night.
I am tired, astray, and stumbling,
Shield me from snare and sin.

Black Boxes from Plane Found

The National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed that investigators have located both black boxes, the data and in-flight voice recorders, from Continental Flight 3407 which crashed last night, killing 50. The crew of a commuter plane that fell out of the sky, killing all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground, noticed significant ice buildup on the wings and windshield just before the plane began pitching and rolling violently, investigators said Friday.

Officials stopped short of saying the ice buildup caused Thursday night's crash and stressed that nothing had been ruled out. But ice on a plane's wings can interfere catastrophically with an aircraft's handling and has been blamed for a number of major air disasters over the years.

Local Man on Flight

Capt. Joseph Zuffoletto, off-duty crew member from Jamestown. Our deepest sympathy to his family

Beverly Eckert, widow of 9/11 victim, was aboard Flight 3407

Beverly Eckert, widow of 9/11 victim, was aboard Flight 3407
By Sharon Linstedt and Dale Anderson


The usually joyful meet-and-greet area of the Buffalo Niagara International Airport was a corridor of tears and sorrow early this morning as family and friends of those aboard Continental Express Flight 3407 filed in to get official word of their loved ones' fates.

For Sue Bourque, the wait for confirmation regarding her sister, Beverly Eckert, was all too familiar. Eckert is the widow of Sean Rooney, a Buffalo native who lost his life in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Eckert was traveling to Buffalo for a weekend celebration of what would have been her husband's 58th birthday. She also had planned to take part in presentation of a scholarship award at Canisius High School that she established in honor of her late husband. Bourque said that while the family had not yet received official confirmation of her sister's fate, the reality was settling in. "We know she was on that plane," Bourque said, "and now she's with him." Eckert, Rooney's high school sweetheart, continued to live in their home in Stamford, Conn., after the terrorists' attacks of 2001. As co-chairwoman of Voices of Sept. 11, she pushed for a formal commission to investigate intelligence failures and for a proper memorial to the victims. Family members and friends identified two other people believed to be on the plane as Ellyce Kausner, a graduate of Clarence High School and Canisius College who was studying law at Florida Coastal University in Jacksonville, and Maddy Loftus, a Buffalo State College graduate who lives in New Jersey. Friends said Loftus was heading here for a weekend reunion of Buffalo State women hockey players. One friend said she may have been flying with other young women heading here for the same reunion. "You never think this is going to happen to you," Kausner's aunt, Susan Leckey, also from Clarence, said at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. "It always happens to somebody else, and you see it on TV." Those waiting to pick up passengers from the ill-fated flight at the time of the crash were ushered to the USAirways Lounge, where airline employees answered general questions and offered consolation, beverages and snacks. A chaplain also was brought in to calm the distraught loved ones. But formal conformation was not expected to be given until later this morning, when Continental corporate officials could be flown to Buffalo. "We know they're dead. Why can't they just tell us or take us to ID them," said one grieving man who declined to give his name.

Passengers arriving for early morning flights also were subdued. "I really don't feel like getting on a plane right now," said Runda Ry, who had driven from Toronto to catch a flight to Atlanta.

slinstedt@buffnews.com

Crash Update

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) - Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital released the following information regarding Continental Flight #3407, which crashed late Thursday night in Clarence Center, New York.

Emergency department crews at the hospital are treating two females, who are believed to be residents of the Long Street neighborhood where the plane crashed.

They were transported by ambulance to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital at approximately 11:35 p.m., with non-life threatening injuries.

Less than seven miles away, Millard Fillmore Suburban is the closest hospital to the crash site, which has been reported to be 6050 Long Street, Clarence Center.

For families looking for information regarding the flight or its passengers, they are asked to call the Continental Airlines hotline, 1-800-621-3263.

The Town of Clarence number is 716-741-8930. Hospitals officials early Friday morning also confirmed they are on standby in the event fire officials or any other patients need evaluation.

Millard Fillmore Suburban recently underwent a $64 million expansion, which includes a new, state of the art decontamination room.

http://www.q400.com/q400/en/home.jsp

The Bombardier Dash 8 (formerly the de Havilland Canada Dash 8, sometimes abbreviated as DHC-8) is a series of twin-engined, medium range, turboprop airliners. Introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984, they are now produced by Bombardier Aerospace. Since 1996, the aircraft have been known as the Q Series, for "quiet". Over 900 Dash 8s of all models have been built. Bombardier forecasts a total production run of 1,192 units of all Dash8/QSeries variants through the year 2016.

http://www.wivb.com/generic/video/live_stream_player

National Transportation Safety Board records show that a Dash 8 had never previously been involved in a fatal accident.

Details For Bombadier Q-400 (DH4) (Source: Colgen Air)

74-seat twin turboprop in single-class, four abreast configuration
Jet-like speed with state-of-the-art avionics
Performance profile allows operations below and away from congested airspace
"Q means Quiet" with advanced noise and vibration reduction
Full size cabin with 32" seat pitch and 6' 5" of headroom
Two flight attendants for passenger safety and comfort
Continental Airlines short and medium haul in-flight service
offerings
Arrives and departs at Terminal C at Newark Liberty Airport

Length 107' 9"
Height 27' 5"
Wingspan 93' 3"
Passengers 68-78
Engines 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. PW150
360 kts (414 mph)

49 people dead in plane crash in Buffalo!

15 Bombardier Q400 turboprop regional aircraft
http://magazine.continental.com/200803-q400-special-feature


Updated: Friday, 13 Feb 2009, 12:59 AM EST
Published : Thursday, 12 Feb 2009, 10:31 PM EST


CLARENCE, N.Y. (WIVB) - Continental flight 3407 has crashed into a house on Long Street west of Goodrich.

The aircraft has fifty to sixty seats.

We are told everyone who was in that house got out safely, but that house is engulfed in flames.

It's described as a 'massive fire' at the scene.

There is no word on the fate of the pilot of the plane or anyone else who may have been on board.

The first report of this crash came in about 10:20 p.m.

The area is shut down right now.

A command center has been set up at Roll Road and Goodrich, that is near the scene.

A Continental flight with 48 people aboard crashed into a home near Buffalo, New York at 10:10 tonight.

Everyone aboard, and one person on the ground, were killed in the tragic crash, which leveled a home in Clarence Center, a neighborhood about 5 miles from Buffalo International Airport, where there was light snow and light rain tonight.

The flight was Continental Express flight 3407 heading to Buffalo, N.Y. from Newark, N.J.

Relatives of passengers aboard flight should call 1-800-621-3263 for information

The crash is America's deadliest since a Comair commuter jet crashed in Lexington, Ky., on Aug. 27, 2006. That crash also claimed 49 lives.

Some residents have been evacuated to the Clarence Center fire hall.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/possible_small_plane_crash_in_clarence_090212

http://www.wivb.com/generic/video/news_4_at_noon/news_4_at_noon

Hard Times Call for Sheep!

Maybe Obama will do what Wilson did!

Sheep on the South Lawn, 1919


During World War I, sheep were brought to graze on the lawns to reduce groundskeeping costs, and their wool was auctioned to raise money for the Red Cross. The sheep stayed at the White House until 1920.






Woodrow Wilson and the Sheep on the Whitehouse Lawn