Memorial at site of Flight 3407 crash dedicated today

Posted at: 06/02/2012 11:30 AM | Updated at: 06/02/2012 9:49 PM
By: Associated Press | WHEC.com

A new memorial has been dedicated at the site of the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in upstate New York.

The flight operated by Colgan Air crashed into a house on Feb. 12, 2009 as it approached Buffalo Niagara International Airport at the end of a short flight from Newark, N.J. 49 of the people on board and one of the home's owners, Doug Wielinski, were killed.

Now family members and friends have a place they can go to remember their loved ones who perished on that tragic night.

The memorial features a stone with all the names of the 51 victims, as well as the two that survived. It was built on the exact same spot where the plane crashed on Long Street.

Additionally a walkway in the shape of an airplane wing with 51 stepping stones leads up to the stone which is the same length of that plane.

There also stands 12 trees to mark the date of the crash.

More than 100 people attended the dedication ceremony as victims were read one by one.
Families participating in the service say they have found comfort within each other as they grieved.

The memorial cost about $75-thousand to build which was paid for by donations.

So far the community has raised a quarter of a million dollars for the families of the victims.

The architect of the display was a student out of the University of Buffalo, named Joe D-Angelo. Joe studied architecture and created this design as part of his master's portfolio.

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