CLARENCE, New York (AP):A sputtering commuter plane slammed into a suburban Buffalo home in a fiery explosion that killed all 48 people on-board and one person on the ground, authorities said.

Flames silhouetted the shattered home after Continental Connection Flight 3407 plummeted into it around 10:20 p.m. on Thursday.

"The whole sky was lit up orange," said Bob Dworak, who lives less than a mile from the crash site. "All of a sudden, there was a big bang and the house shook."

The 74-seat Q400 Bombardier aircraft was carrying 5,000 pounds (2,270 kilograms) of fuel and apparently exploded on impact, Erie County Executive Chris Collins said.

heroic effort

Firefighters got as close to the plane as they could, he said. "They were shouting out to see if there were any survivors on the plane. Truly a very heroic effort, but there were no survivors."

The twin-turboprop operated by Colgan Air was flying from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to Buffalo Niagara International Airport in light snow, fog and 17mph (27kph) winds.

Prior to the crash, the voice of a female pilot on Flight 3407 could be heard communicating with air traffic controllers, according to a recording of the Buffalo air traffic control's radio messages shortly before the crash captured by the website www.liveatc.net. Neither the controller nor the pilot shows any concern that anything is out of the ordinary as the aeroplane is asked to fly at 2,300 feet (700 metres).

A minute later, the controller tries to contact the plane but hears no response. After a pause, he tries to contact the plane again.

Then the controller asks the pilot of a nearby Delta Air Lines plane to see whether he can see the Continental flight. The Delta pilot says no.

About three to four minutes after that, he tells an unidentified listener to contact authorities on the ground in the Clarence area.

didn't make the airport

Later, he tells all aircraft monitoring the same frequency: "We did have a Dash 8 over the marker that didn't make the airport. He appears to be about five miles away from the airport."

While residents of his neighbourhood about 10 miles (16 kilometres) from the Buffalo airport were used to planes rumbling overhead, witnesses said this one sounded louder than usual, sputtered and made some odd noises.

"There is an extensive investigation as we speak," Hartmayer said. "There was very little or any communication before the crash."