An aircraft identified by Erie County Executive Chris Collins as a Continental Airlines flight crashed into a house in Clarence Center shortly after 10 o'clock tonight, starting a fire that poured thick smoke throughout the hamlet.

Collins said that there were 50 people aboard the plane and crew members had reported mechanical problems as they approached Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Several injured people were taken from the scene to Erie County Medical Center for treatment.

Television reports said the crash site was 6050 Long St., not far from the Clarence Center Fire Hall on Clarence Center Road. Police said that one man was in the residence at the time of the crash.