Flight 18 was on the last leg of flight New York – Albany – Plattsburg – Malone – Massena when it approached Massena. The first officer established a downwind leg at 1200 feet to execute a rectangular left-hand pattern for runway 04. The turn to base leg was made at about 800 feet at an airspeed off about 130 knots, according to the captain. The aircraft then turned to finals at 500 feet agl. On finals the aircraft seemed high; the first officer intended to ask permission to go around when the captain took control of the aircraft. He closed the throttles and applied full flaps and slowed the aircraft to 95 knots. His intention was to lower the nose to descend and, during the descent, increase the speed to 110 knots for flareout and touchdown. The rate of descent continued however when he began the flareout. The aircraft landed hard, causing the no. 2 engine to separate from the wing. The plane then rebounded and touched down heavily again before running off the side of the runway. Crossing the taxiway, the no. 1 engine also separated from the wing. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The captain’s incorrect technique during the final approach which resulted in an abnormally steep nose-down attitude and high rate of descent, the latter not being sufficiently arrested before touchdown.”