Analysis of Causes of Icing Conditions Which Contributed to the Crash of Continental Flight 3407

On February 12, 2009 at 10:20 pm EST, Continental Connection Flight 3407 from Newark to Buffalo crashed 5 miles short of the runway at Buffalo, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is still investigating the crash, but preliminary reports show the airplane was experiencing icing conditions before the crash. Preliminary reports indicate that the pilot did not respond properly to the icing conditions, which contributed to the crash. However the presence of the icing conditions which were significant enough to cause aircraft problems needs further investigation to determine if pilots can be forewarned about these type of aircraft icing problems.