Plane Crash Outside of Buffalo, New York: Passengers and Crew all Dead.

The scene exploded into a hellish fire whose light could be seen for miles in all directions as the plane, filled with fuel, crashed into a home. The explosion was heard by many in automobiles even with their windows closed. It was described by one as a "mini-earthquake".

BUFFALO (Catholic Online) - "There were no souls to bring in and treat." These were the tragic words of a nurse from the Erie County Medical Center Express. They summarize the utter shock and despair of many in response to the latest air tragedy in the United States. She had been asked to stay late to treat survivors.

A Continental Express airplane with 44 passengers on board crashed into a home at 10:15 p.m. Thursday evening in Clarence County, New York, a suburb of Buffalo.

The scene exploded into a hellish fire whose light could be seen for miles in all directions as the plane, filled with fuel, crashed into a home. The explosion was heard by many in automobiles even with their windows closed. It was described by one as a "mini-earthquake".

When the tragic event was all over, the news was all bad; 44 passengers on board, all four crew members and one person on the ground- who was in his home for the evening - were dead. Two people in that same residence escaped and were being treated in a local hospital. 12 nearby homes were damaged.

The various recovery agencies are still trying to piece together what actually happened in this crash. A local resident who lives near the crash site was driving along the road where it occurred just before impact. He indicated that he saw the plane heading in what appeared to be the opposite direction from what he later heard was its designated route.

"It was [flying] nose down, hardly above the treetops, and its left wing was tilted slightly down...I did not see any landing gear. I saw the underbelly of the plane fairly well. There was nothing burning on the plane and no physical damage. Nothing seemed wrong, except it was on a bad path."

What makes the incident even more mysterious to some observers is that there was no real communication from the crew that the flight was even in distress. One regional transportation authority official said "I was told by the tower the plane simply dropped off the radar screen."

The National Transportation Safety Board arrived on the scene early Friday morning.

One of the passengers killed was Beverly Eckert, the widow of September 11th victim Sean Rooney. She was traveling on the flight to in order celebrate her deceased husband's 58th birthday. She was to participate in the awarding of a scholarship in his honor at a local High School.

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