War.ace,
I doubt it. The Bombardier aircraft company, and the Dash aircraft, have a solid safety record. The conditions near the Buffalo airport were freezing mist, light snow, with temps right around freezing. This is kind of a 'perfect storm" for weather conditions that could bring down an aircraft. Other flights landing before and after also complained of icing problems on their wings. Though it's not proven yet, living in that area and being intimately familiar with the weather patterns there leads me to speculate that icing may have played a large role in the crash.
Making knee-jerk reactions before this is confirmed, however, would be foolhardy. The NTSB will conduct a thorough investigation and publish a report on the accident. The only thing I can think of that might have been an issue is the Dash aircraft used a pneumatic de-icing boot system that flexes and breaks apart the ice accumulation, and does not have a heated system found on larger commercial aircraft.
Still, it looks like the icing on the wings may have altered the airflow over the wing, and when the flaps and gear were deployed, it changed the flying characteristics of the aircraft. Hopefully, some answers will be proveded soon.
Best of luck to your father and other company employees in the meantime.