Air safety officials participate in a hearing on the crash of the Colgan Air plane near Buffalo, New York.

The tail of the aircraft is visible at the crash site in Clarence Center, New York, in February.

Miles O'Brien
True/Slant

When the wreckage of Colgan/Continental Flight 3407 was still smoldering near Buffalo, I blogged that aircraft icing was a likely potential cause of the crash. Turns out, it was just icing on the cake – a cake that has been in the oven for more than thirty years now.

It was October 24, 1978 when President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act. There were a lot of good reasons then to remove the tie-downs and chalks on the airline industry. The Civil Aeronautics Board had become egregiously bureaucratic and good people with good business plans were stymied by government rules and inaction.

So why not allow the free market to prevail? Wouldn’t competition be a win-win for the American people and the airlines? Thirty years later, it is hard to find a winner – unless your only metric is your ability to fly roundtrip coast-to-coast for $200.

Well I have news for you: your mother was right…you get what you pay for. And tragically, Flight 3407 is what we ordered up back in 1978.

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The pilot of a doomed plane that crashed, killing 50 people, said "Jesus Christ" and "We're down," seconds before the plane hurtled from the night sky into a house outside Buffalo, New York, in February.

The last sounds heard in the cockpit were First Officer Rebecca Shaw saying "We're" and then screaming at 10:16 p.m. on February 12, according to a transcript of the cockpit recording.

Seconds earlier, the pilot, Capt. Marvin Renslow, said, "Jesus Christ," as a sound "similar to stick shaker" was heard, the transcript said. Renslow said, "We're down," and a thump was heard before Shaw said, "We're" and screamed.

We'll have more on the cockpit recordings on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear more about the plane crash from Randi Kaye on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

An investigator walks past the wreckage from a plane crash in Clarence Center, New York, in February.

CNN

The pilot of a doomed plane that crashed, killing 50 people, said "Jesus Christ" and "We're down," seconds before the plane hurtled from the night sky into a house outside Buffalo, New York, in February.

The last sounds heard in the cockpit were First Officer Rebecca Shaw saying "We're" and then screaming at 10:16 p.m. on February 12, according to a transcript of the cockpit recording.

Seconds earlier, the pilot, Capt. Marvin Renslow, said, "Jesus Christ," as a sound "similar to stick shaker" was heard, the transcript said. Renslow said, "We're down," and a thump was heard before Shaw said, "We're" and screamed.

The National Transportation Safety Board released the transcript of the cockpit recording on Tuesday as it began a three-day hearing in Washington on the crash.

Continental Connection Flight 3407, operated by regional carrier Colgan Air, plunged into a house in Clarence Center, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one man in the house.

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Editor's Note: To see more accounts from covering the breaking news of the crash of Continental Flight 3407 outside Buffalo, N.Y., click here.

Bright flames obscured everything around the crash site, as iReporter Valerie Woodruff's photo shows.

Kay Jones
AC360° Coordinating Editorial Producer

Our program, Anderson Cooper 360°, had finished up Thursday night before we even heard that a plane had crashed outside Buffalo. In fact, many of us were already home.

I had arrived home around midnight and checked my blackberry before hitting the sack, as most of us do. There were 3 emails, so I didn't think much, until I saw the CNN BREAKING NEWS email. After reading "A Continental plane has crashed into a house in Buffalo, New York," I immediately called into Atlanta to see what I could do to help. The supervising producer told me that they wanted Anderson to come back in to anchor and asked if I could head up our guest bookings.

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Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

The efforts by President Obama and Congress to rescue the economy have been book-ended by two major, heart-wrenching events that have the power to pull people together. And I'm not talking about House and Senate votes.

I'm talking about plane crashes. One of which, the "Miracle on the Hudson" on Jan. 16, wasn't actually a crash, but a "ditching," but only because of Sully's cool-headed landing skills.

I've covered a number of plane crashes, talked with family members of passengers who've died, and survived, and people in neighborhoods who might've been killed, but instead have been awed by the horror that fell near them. I've talked with pilots and investigators and seen a few things you don't really want to see.

And I've noticed one effect of a plane crash on many people is a pulling together. People often realize for a few hours, or days or years, what it's all about. People open up to others, they talk about their feelings, they think about what's really important to them. Some have told me they see things in a different way, with more heart, a deeper feel for pain and joy, or for other human beings.

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President Barack Obama shakes hands with Beverly Eckert on Feb. 6, 2009, during a meeting in Washington, D.C., at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building with a group who lost family members in the 9/11 and the U.S.S. Cole tragedies.

President Barack Obama on Friday praised Beverly Eckert, the widow of a 9/11 victim and prominent post-9/11 activist, who was one of the passengers who died in a plane crash outside Buffalo, New York.

"Beverly lost her husband on 9/11," Obama said, "and became a tireless advocate for the families whose lives were forever changed on that September day."

A resident of Stamford, Connecticut, Eckert was the widow of Buffalo native Sean Rooney, who died at the World Trade Center.

Obama's words underscored the shock and grief from friends, family and acquaintances over the news that Eckert was aboard the Continental Connection Flight 3407 that crashed, killing all 49 aboard and one on the ground.

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Only a few pieces of the Continental Connection Dash 8 turboprop were recognizable after the crash.

Dr. Gail Saltz
Psychiatrist
AC360° Contributor

Practically on the heels of the triumphant success of the US Airways flight ‘splash landing’ in the Hudson River, comes the tragically opposite outcome of the plane crash near Buffalo, NY last night. As if the fragility of life needs to be underscored any further right now, many Americans are struggling with various fears about the precariousness of their situations. They are hoping that this new President will find a way to provide protection and solutions. This crash is a sad reminder that life contains inherent risk and that try, as we all might, sometimes bad stuff happens anyway.

It is tragic that 50 innocent people have lost their lives….but what we all need to remember is that this is truly a fluke. This is the first fatal crash since 2006. Airplane crashes are actually rare, much more unusual than fatal car crashes. Yet plane crashes play on our most instinctual fears. People are often afraid of heights and the idea of being high in the sky in a heavy piece of metal leaves us all feeling scared and amazed that this doesn’t happen more often.

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President Obama reacts to the Buffalo plane crash and talks about meeting one of the victims just days ago.

Firefighters from nine volunteer fire departments battled the flames at the crash site.

Jack Gray
AC360° Associate Producer

I had just sat down at 12:30am to write my Friday blog when I got an email from AC360° Executive Producer Kathleen Friery: “You up? Plane crash. May need you to come back in.” I started to get ready. Confirmation that I was needed back at CNN’s New York headquarters came moments later.

I said goodbye to my dog, ran out of my apartment and hailed a cab. “Columbus Circle,” I said, “as fast as you can.”

“Did you hear about the plane crash?” I asked my cab driver. He hadn’t.

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