50 Killed in New York Plane Crash

Posted February 13, 2009, 8:49 a.m.

At least 50 were killed late last night and several injured in the fiery Buffalo, New York, crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air. The flight, which was headed from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo, was on approach approx. 10 miles from its destination airport when contact was lost. Preliminary information indicates that the Q400 Bombardier aircraft, a twin-engined turbo-prop, entered a steep dive and impacted a residential home, killing all 49 aboard and at least one on the ground.

Other aircraft in the area reported icing conditions, and ice buildup on the wings can cause a catastrophic loss of lift, but it is too early to determine if the weather was a contributing cause of this crash. Much stronger anti-ice procedures were put in place after the 1982 crash of Air Florida Flight 90 into Washington, DC’s 14th St. Bridge and the Potomac River shortly after takeoff.

This is the first crash of a commercial airliner resulting in fatalities since 2006, ending a remarkably safe period in commercial air travel.

Scott Bradford has been putting his opinions on his website since 1995—before most people knew what a website was. He has been a professional web developer in the public- and private-sector for over twenty years. He is an independent constitutional conservative who believes in human rights and limited government, and a Catholic Christian whose beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. He loves Pink Floyd and can play the bass guitar . . . sort-of. He’s a husband, pet lover, amateur radio operator, and classic AMC/Jeep enthusiast.

Quotes

The establishment of a Constitution, in time of profound peace, by the voluntary consent of a whole people, is a PRODIGY, to the completion of which I look forward with trembling anxiety.

The best way to solve any problem is to remove the cause.

There is no conflict between science and religion.

The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good.

The transient passions and the interests of an hour, or the chance of circumstances, may have created the external forms of independence; but the despotic tendency which has been repelled will, sooner or later, inevitably reappear on the surface.

It is only life and love that give love and life.

Don’t be yourself, be someone a little nicer.

Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it.

If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.

The neurotic always wishes people would let him alone—until they do.

The power of the will does not extend to making opposites exist at the same time.

It may very well be that the Communists . . . are closer to [Christ] than those who see Him as a sentimentalist and a vague moral reformer.

Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. . . .

When men are uniform in their opinions, it affords evidence that they are sincere. When they are shifting, it gives reason to believe, they do not change from conviction.

There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.

The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity.

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness.

Wall Street indexes predicted nine out of the last five recessions!

We must not expect God to transform us without our bringing something to be transformed.

Are introverts arrogant? Hardly. I suppose this common misconception has to do with our being more intelligent, more reflective, more independent, more level-headed, more refined, and more sensitive than extroverts.