Here's the WSJ's latest report. I'm generally pretty skeptical of media reports, but Andy Pasztor is generally one of the better reporters. This scenario is certainly more consistent with the aircraft models' history, but doesn't give a clue why they slowed to such a speed. Perhaps they punched off the autopilot (or it disconnected when they dumped flaps and gear at the marker) and the aircraft was way out of trim.

"Investigators examining last week's Continental Connection plane crash have gathered evidence that pilot commands -- not a buildup of ice on the wings and tail -- likely initiated the fatal dive of the twin-engine Bombardier Q400 into a neighborhood six miles short of the Buffalo, N.Y., airport, according to people familiar with the situation.

The commuter plane slowed to an unsafe speed as it approached the airport, causing an automatic stall warning, these people said. The pilot pulled back sharply on the plane's controls and added power instead of following the proper procedure of pushing forward to lower the plane's nose to regain speed, they said. He held the controls there, locking the airplane into a deadly stall, they added."