, discussed `` significant '' ice buildup on the aircraft 's windshield and wings before the crash , and icing has become a focus as a possible cause . Follow the plane 's path '' Chealander said the plane 's de-icing system was turned on 11 minutes after the flight left Newark , New Jersey , for Buffalo , and remained on for the entire flight . He said the pilots were told before departure from Newark that there was `` light to moderate icing '' in the Buffalo area but that no other pilots had reported problems with their landings at the Buffalo airport . `` It was really not a bad-weather day , and they chose to launch -LSB- from Newark -RSB- , '' Chealander said of the pilot and the first officer . The plane was on autopilot during its approach to the Buffalo airport , Chealander said . As to questions about whether the autopilot should have been turned off , Chealander said using it even in bad weather situations `` is normal . '' Watch Chealander discuss autopilot options '' `` You 're encouraged to use the autopilot to help you with the workloads of
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A commuter airliner that crashed Thursday in upstate New York , killing 50 people , underwent violent pitching and rolling seconds before impact , with passengers experiencing twice the normal force of gravity , a federal investigator said Sunday . Only a few pieces of the Continental Connection Dash 8 turboprop were recognizable after the crash . The plane 's final 800-foot fall took five seconds , Steve Chealander of the National Transportation Safety Board said . The aircraft crashed into a home in Clarence Center , New York , near Buffalo , on Thursday night , killing all 49 people aboard . A 61-year-old man in the house died also , but his wife and daughter survived . Final motions of the aircraft were so drastic that the plane 's autopilot automatically disengaged and warnings sounded , Chealander said , citing information from the plane 's flight data and cockpit voice recorders . Also , a `` stick-shaker '' device , which noisily vibrates an airplane 's controls to warn the pilot of imminent stall , kicked in , he said . The flight crew of Continental Connection Flight 3407 , operated by Colgan Air