Pilot error investigated in Buffalo crash

BUFFALO, N.Y., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Investigators say a recreation of the final seconds of Continental Connection Flight 3407 in Buffalo, N.Y., indicates the pilots may have overreacted.

A computer animation based on data from the Bombardier Dash 8 Q-400's two black box recorders shows the pilot may have pulled back sharply on the plane's controls after the automatic pilot allowed the aircraft to slow down in icy conditions, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The report said NTSB investigators were looking at the possibility of pilot error as they seek to determine the cause of the crash late last Thursday that killed the 49 passengers and crew aboard and one person in a house on the ground.

Aviation experts theorize the autopilot pointed the 74-seat, turboprop's nose down to generate speed and that the pilot may have overcompensated by pointing the nose too high.

The plane, en route to Buffalo from Newark, N.J., rolled sharply and crashed.

Capt. Marvin Renslow, who was believed to be at the controls at the time, had been flying the Dash 8 since December.