18 February,2009 10:02 AM IST | | Agencies
Investigators were wrapping up their work at the charred site of impact, but still had no breakthrough today on what caused a plane crash near Buffalo that left 50 people dead. In a harrowing plunge, Continental Airlines Flight 3407 dropped 244 m in five seconds shortly beforeu00a0the planeu00a0crashed into a house in New York on Thursday, killing 49 people on board and one person in the house.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said much of its team sent in to investigate would return to Washington today with material collected at the crash site.
A preliminary review of flight data and cockpit voice recorders revealed that the plane was on autopilot for part of its approach to the Niagara International Airport outside Buffalo, NTSB investigator Steven Chealander has said.
Chealander said the plane's deicing system was activated 11 minutes after departure from Newark, New Jersey, and remained on for the duration of the flight. The aircraft's stall-protection equipment was also activated. With black box flight recorders being studied for clues as to what sent the Bombardier plane soaring down to the ground, it still could be months before the mystery is completely solved.u00a0
