Ice eyed as possible cause of fatal plane crash

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Buffalo/Clarence Plane Crash

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BUFFALO, N.Y. – Investigators pored over instrument data and listened to the last words of the doomed pilot and co-pilot of a commuter plane in the hopes of determining whether ice on its wings caused the fiery crash that took 50 lives.

Officials say the crew of Continental Connection Flight 3407 remarked upon significant ice buildup on the wings and windshield shortly before the aircraft pitched violently and slammed into a house.

Ice on the wings can interfere catastrophically with an aircraft's handling and has been blamed for a number of major air disasters over the years, but officials said they had drawn no conclusions as to the cause of Thursday night's crash.