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Editor: James T. Crouse
Profession: Aviation Accident Attorney

Category: Plane Crashes

This is a question raised by The Buffalo News and one that should get our attention.

Last week the NTSB held hearings on the deadly crash in February of Flight 3407 near Buffalo. It was a bad week for Continental Connection flight using Colgan Air - the information gleaned from the hearings caused a congressional bipartisan outrage.

Of course there was congressional outrage over many aspects of the crash of Flight 3407. We all know congressional outrage is nothing new when a story is hot, in the news, and they can make politically correct statements to impress their constituents. Then what? What happens when the next newsmaking headline comes and this one fades from the front page? Where does their strong passion and determination go then? What happens when the lobbyists come around with their assurance that all is okay? Are all these circumstances contributing factors to why nothing gets done?

The families of those who perished on that deadly night in February vow they won't let this happen. Frieda hopes they stay the course and make sure the industry acts, and acts quickly before more trusting passengers lose their lives.

"Looking at this, obviously the FAA is asleep at the switch," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y.

Well, we all know that's a major understatement! Check out NTSB's ten most wanted airline safety improvements to see just how long the FAA has been asleep.

Turboprops and small jets of regional airlines make up about half of our commercial flights. They also account for all of out nation's multiple-fatality commercial plane crashes since 2002, killing a total of 164 people. The big airlines outsource their less-profitable routes to smaller carriers who pay their crews far less. Does this mean training and safety measures are also on a smaller budget? We now know the pilot of Flight 3407 did not receive the training needed to keep the plane from plummeting to the ground and that he had failed several flight tests, yet Continental/Colgan allowed him to hold the lives of 50 people in his hands on Feburary 12. If the crew had been trained in recovering from stalls, it is thought the crash could have been avoided. A former Continental pilot who lost a daughter in the crash, says Continental's greed is to blame for the crash - it outsourced to save money and bears the responsibility for the crash. Safety board members question the safety standards on the cheap-labor regional airlines might not be the same for the major airlines. Even though the tickets still read a major airline, in small print you may find Colgan, Comair, or Chautauqua Airlines.

We can't allow this travesty continue. The airlines have to be less concerned about greed and more concerned about our safety. Tell Washington "we the people" want changes made to the airline industry.