Crash experts focus on sharp rise of plane's nose

— -- Investigators trying to solve the week-old crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 near Buffalo are hoping to find clues that will explain the mystery of why the plane's nose inexplicably shot up during a seemingly normal landing.

Understanding what the crew was thinking in the final moments could help explain why the plane's nose rose 31 degrees before quickly losing control and plummeting to the ground.

The Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 had been in a normal approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport in icy weather when the nose suddenly shot upward, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Steven Chealander. That maneuver, well beyond the degree of a normal climb, is being looked at as the reason the plane plummeted to the ground. All 49 people aboard died, along with a man on the ground.

Teams from the NTSB are also studying computer plots, running aerodynamic simulations and picking over charred wreckage in search of mechanical problems.

Determining why pilots act the way they do is among the most difficult tasks that the NTSB undertakes, safety experts and former investigators say.

The crash-proof cockpit voice recorders often leave few clues other than clipped comments and grunts. Even the most sophisticated data recorders do not say whether a pilot flicked a switch intentionally or accidentally.

"It's an old, old issue in accident investigation," said John Lauber, a former NTSB board member who studied pilot performance at NASA. "The technology does not exist that allows you to capture the intent. You always have to infer the intent."

Investigators will interview the pilots' co-workers, study their training and search for clues in their personalities. They will also listen carefully to the cockpit recording.

"It's extraordinarily difficult and it's emotionally draining," said Peter Goelz, who served as managing director of the NTSB. "It means you have to listen very, very carefully to the sounds and activities of the last moments of an airplane. It's terrible."