Workers remove debris at the crash scene of Continental Connection Flight 3407 in Clarence Center, N.Y., on Feb. 16.

ANIMATION OF BUFFALO-AREA PLANE CRASH ANIMATION OF BUFFALO-AREA PLANE CRASH TRANSCRIPT OF LAST WORDS ABOARD FLIGHT 3407 TRANSCRIPT OF LAST WORDS ABOARD FLIGHT 3407 A transcript of the cockpit's voice recorder showed that everything appeared normal on the plane just before it lurched in midair and plummeted to the ground the night of Feb. 12. This partial transcript lists the times in hours, minutes and seconds: 10:10:32 p.m. First Officer Rebecca Shaw: Oh yeah, oh it's lots of ice. 10:10:47 Captain Marvin Renslow: Oh yeah, that's the most I've seen, most ice I've seen on the leading edges in a long time. In a while, anyway, I should say. 10:10:57 Shaw: Flying in the Northeast, I've 1,600 hours. ... I had more actual time on my first day of IOE (initial operating experience) than I did in the 1,600 hours I had when I came here. 10:11:31 Renslow: But, uh, as a matter of fact I got hired with about 625 hours here. 10:11:37 Shaw: Oh wow ... 10:11:39 Shaw: That's not much for, uh, back when you got hired. 10:11:42 Renslow: No but, uh, out of that ... 250 hours was, uh, part 121 turbine, multiengine turbine. 10:11:50 Shaw: Oh that's right yeah. 10:11:54 Shaw: No, but all these guys are complaining, they're saying, you know, how we were supposed to upgrade by now and ... I'm thinking, you know what? I really wouldn't mind going through a winter in the Northeast before I have to upgrade to captain. 10:12:05 Shaw: I've never seen icing conditions. I've never deiced. ... I've never experienced any of that. I don't want to have to experience that and make those kinds of calls. You know I'd've freaked out. I'd have, like, seen this much ice and thought, oh my gosh we were going to crash. 10:13:58 Renslow: Oh yeah, I'm so glad. ... I mean, I would've been ... fine. I would have survived it. ... We never had to make decisions that I wouldn't have been able to make but ... now I'm more comfortable. 10:16:04 Renslow: Gear down. ... 10:16:06 Buffalo Approach controller: Colgan thirty four zero seven contact tower one two zero point five. Have a good night. 10:16:11 Shaw: Over to tower you do the same, 3407. 10:16:21 Shaw: Gear's down. 10:16:23 Renslow: Flaps fifteen before landing checklist. 10:16:26 Shaw: Uhhh. 10:16:31 (sound similar to increase in engine power) 10:16:34 Renslow: Jesus Christ . 10:16:37 Shaw: I put the flaps up. 10:16:42 Renslow: (sound of grunt) (unintelligible) -ther bear. 10:16:45 Shaw: Should the gear up? 10:16:46 Renslow: Gear up oh (expletive). 10:16:51.9 Renslow: We're down. 10:16:51.9 (sound of thump) 10:16:52.0 Shaw: We're (sound of scream) Source: National Transportation Safety Board WASHINGTON  The pilots of a commuter plane that crashed into a Buffalo neighborhood in February chit-chatted with each other and seemed oblivious as the plane slowed to a dangerous speed, according to a transcript of the cockpit recorder released Tuesday. The final moments reveal for the first time how the pilots on Continental Connection Flight 3407 shared small talk about their careers and icy weather conditions just before the plane gyrated out of control and slammed into the ground, killing 50 people. "You know, I'd've freaked out," first officer Rebecca Shaw says, less than five minutes before the plane crashed on Feb. 12. "I'd have, like, seen this much ice and thought, oh my gosh we were going to crash." The transcript shows that Capt. Marvin Renslow, 47, and Shaw, 24, were inattentive during a critical phase of the flight as they prepared to land. Thousands of pages of other documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board suggest they may also have suffered from lack of sleep and inadequate training. The documents show that icing did not cause the crash. After chatting, neither pilot realized they had reduced speed. The plane slowed 57 mph in less than 30 seconds, falling below the required minimum speed of 166 mph in icy weather. What happened next doomed the flight. The plane's "stick shaker" — a device that warns pilots when a plane gets too slow — activated, violently vibrating the control column. Renslow then pulled the plane into a climb, slowing it even more. " Jesus Christ ," he said as the plane rolled violently. The crash in Clarence Center, N.Y ., killed all 49 people aboard the flight and a man in a house — the first fatalities on a mid- or large-sized airline in nearly 2½ years. The flight was operated by Colgan Air under contract. Pilots are prohibited from talking about anything unrelated to their flight during critical operations below 10,000 feet. The rule is "sacrosanct" because so many accidents have involved inattention by pilots, said Michael Barr, an aviation instructor at the University of Southern California . "That's superfluous information that they should be talking about when they are having coffee on the ground," Barr said. The investigation has uncovered numerous safety issues. The three-day hearing this week is expected to explore topics ranging from whether the pilots were qualified to the airline's lack of training on stall warning systems. According to NTSB documents: • Both pilots may not have gotten adequate rest before the flight. Shaw had taken an overnight flight from Seattle before reporting to work. Renslow logged into an airline computer system at 3 a.m. on the morning of the crash. • Renslow had failed four FAA check flights to determine whether he was qualified to fly. He also failed an airline check. He was able to pass each of the checks after retaking the test. • Investigators found that pilots had not been trained how to use a safety device that attempted to save the pilots as they went out of control. Known as a "stick pusher," it automatically pushes a plane's nose down to pick up speed when it gets dangerously slow. When it activated, Renslow overrode it, keeping the nose pointed skyward. Because of training issues such as this, it would be wrong to simply blame the pilots for the crash, the union for the pilots said. The pilots were employed by Colgan Air , which operated the flight for Continental. "I think there was some element of surprise in this because they were never trained for it," said Capt. Paul Rice, first vice president of the Air Line Pilots Association. Colgan issued a statement saying that the pilots had been trained under a federally approved program. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. 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