Nothing but truth Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:59:17 GMT -5

Lives will not be saved charlie
Accidents are just a part of life, auto, boats, planes, bridges collapsing, etc More lives will be lost from another regional airline accident whenever that happens. I can't wait to see what everyone who supported this bill has to say when mr/miss +1500 hrs of flight time pilots are in the accidenet.

Chris Kern Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:42:52 GMT -5

Families of Continental Flight 3407

Congratulations on your victory which exemplifies participating in a Democracy. I got the ball rolling with the FAA/NTSB telling the truth, then everyone pulled together and demanded change, Chuck did his part in getting the bill written, and then both Democrats and Republicans came together and got it passed for Barack to sign.



During the last three years I have seen challenges in getting legislation passed, and your determination is testament to Americans throughout this country.



Best Regards, 45Th President of the United States

Chris

Charlie Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:02:46 GMT -5

Legislation passed!!!

This will undoubtedly save lives.

T.B. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:50:48 GMT -5

I should have said the same priority as Commercial Truck Drivers, not that one is a higher priority than another.

I hope that the rest requirements are changed soon to prevent similiar accidents.

Additionally I do support a higher time requirement for pilots hired by the airlines as well as specialized training.

My thoughts and prayes go out to the family and friends of this preventable accident.

T.B. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:28:32 GMT -5

Thank you for your efforts to contibute to aviation safety. It seems the politicians have missed the fatigue issue once again. As an airline pilot, I can tell you we are operating on 4-5 hours of sleep per night, and it is perfectly legal. Please do what you can to help the rest requirements to be changed to something giving pilots satisfactory rest. I know that I'm flying fatigued, but the Federal government regulations allow my company to push me to these limits. Please continue to push for safe rest requirements.

Commercial Truck Drivers have more stringent rest requirements than Air Transport Pilots. You would think that a person responsible for up to 300 lives in the air would be given a higer priority.

Thank you families for your continued effort to improve aviation safety.

Regina Ryder Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:31:05 GMT -5

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the family members affected by this trajedy. I have met a couple of you and am very honored to have done so. I worked with the company for four years and left shortly after this incident to come to Buffalo to show my support and love for those families and my friends who were the crew members on that plane.
The fight is almost over....stay strong and continue to move forward so other families will not have to experience the same grief that we all have.

R.H. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:12:11 GMT -5

Tamera, I am sorry that you found my offensive. I certainly didn't mean it to. As a matter of fact, the Captain that was riding in the back of the airplane (Joe Zuffoletto) was a good friend of mine that I literally was going to be attending a safety seminar with just days after the crash occurred. Your response is based on emotion and an obvious lack of knowledge, background, history and understanding of what are causal factors in accidents. Specifically, airline accidents. I never asserted that Colgan Air should not be held accountable for this accident. Flight 3407 and it's aftermath have been politicized and the families are suffering even more because of it. In their sincere belief that government was actually going to step in and make serious changes to how airline operate. The problem in the airline industry, and the regional airline sector goes far deeper than what is readily apparent to the flying public.
Pilots will still be flying fatigued, and under even more pressure than they are under. So, if an honest assessment of the state of the industry offends you. So be it. To me IT IS personal.

Tamera Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:18:20 GMT -5

R.H.

Do you have any idea how offensive your post is? 3407 stands out and alone as the most blatent lack of situational awareness in the history of commercial air travel. A pitch up so high at the final approach fix that by FAA definitions it would qualify as an aerobatic maneuver; Followed by full rudder inputs left and right, stop to stop; Finally putting the aircraft into a spin while th FO did nothing to stop him.

Are you serious or deluded? You are trying to paint this into the fabric of accidents happen and Colgan is not to held accountable because of accounting or lessons were learned also back in the 60's.

NEWSFLASH: We are not in the 60's. How would you like some medical care from the 60's to deal with cancer?

R.H. Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:59:07 GMT -5

I first want to express my sincere condolences to the family members, friends and loved ones of those lost in the crash of 3407. Like all accidents, they catch us all by surprise, then grief and ultimately anger. I don't blame anyone for being angry, nor do I think your efforts to improve safety in the airline industry are unfounded.
Unfortunately, we are dealing with political and economic realities both in industry and government. The FAA under it's charter is tasked with promote air commerce AND safety. This is because the reality is that the FAA must evaluate every proposed rule-making change from a cost vs. benefit standpoint. What this translates into is that there is a dollar value placed on human lives saved over the long run vs. how much it will cost the industry.
3407 was a tragic accident, and like all accidents there is a chain of events that led to it's occurance. At face value, it appears to be a heinous accident that should never have occurred and the causal factors rest squarely on the airline itself. I am not defending the company, because I work there, but I am going to say that in the history of airline accidents at both "regional" and "mainline" carriers. I can count many more than a handful that were a direct result of negligence, corruption and corporate greed. I am not going to even attempt to cite them all, but if you research airline accidents since 1960 when the jet age really took hold it wouldn't be difficult for me to assert what MANY pilots at a major will tell you. It is the same crap with these companies too.
I applaud your efforts to improve airline safety, but in echoing the sentiments of some other people who have posted here. This legislation isn't going to make the skies any safer. Much in same way that the TSA creates a false sense of security in preventing terrorism. A pilot with an ATP will also create a false sense of security about the competence of the crew.
We don't need another fatigue study to tell us that pilots are fatigued. It has been done numerous times with the same conclusions. Simply a waste of taxpayer dollars to conclude the obvious, 16-hour duty days, stand-up or continuous duty overnights are fatiguing. We will STILL have the usual players...Controlled Flight into Terrain, Runway Incursions, etc...
I hope that you don't think that I don't want to see change or that I am denying there was a problem at Colgan Air. WE that work there ALL recognize that, BUT as the saying goes...The more it changes, the more it stays the same. People will soon forget the memories of those lost on 3407 just as they did in Lexington, KY. It is you, the ones that lost your loved ones that have to wake-up to the reality that the flying public has a very short memory and politicians really only are attracted to the issues that put them in the limelight.
Lastly, irregardless of what happened in Buffalo. Some of the best pilots in the industry do fly at Colgan Air. Flying in demanding conditions, poor weather, ineffective and indifferent management and in the final analysis a pretty ungrateful flying public...
I pray that the souls of those lost rest in peace and that their loved ones find solace that WE that fly at CJC will NOT forget them.

Colgan Air SAAB 340 First Officer

avsafe Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:54:00 GMT -5

Does anyone know the status of this? Has anything changed?
In the wake of the Colgan Air Flight 3407 accident, US lawmakers are urging regulatory authorities to study the impact of long-distance commuting on pilot fatigue.

During a recent hearing of the Senate commerce, science and transportation committee, Senators pressed officials from the US FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to undertake a widespread study of airline pilots to establish what connection, if any, exists between commuting pilots and fatigue.

Findings of the NTSB investigation following the February 2009 accident of a Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 that crashed on approach to Buffalo concluded that inappropriate pilot response to a stick shaker stall warning was found to be the probable cause of the accident.

Additionally, the NTSB found that the crew was "likely fatigued" at the time of the accident after the captain spent the two of the three nights prior to the crash sleeping in the airline's crew lounge and the first officer was commuting from her home in Seattle the night prior.

"Unfortunately, in the aviation industry, fatigue-related decisions by operators and pilots - such as minimum crew hires, flight crew schedules and commuting - are decisions that too often reflect the economics of the industry, rather than the data and science of fatigue and human performance," says NTSB.

"It seems unlikely to me that this is the only circumstance and maybe this has become a practice and this has to stop," says Subcommttee Chairman Byron Dorgan (D-ND).

NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman explains the board esimated during its investigation that 70% of Colgan's pilots commuted to the airline's Newark Liberty International Airport base, and 20% were commuting from a distance of 1600km (1000 miles) or more.

"Until we know how widespread this is, we can't really fix the problem, and neither can the carriers" says Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC). "Just because the safety record is good, it doesn't mean the pilots are rested."

Peggy Gilligan, FAA's associate administrator for aviation safety, acknowledges that the relationship between commuting and pilot fatigue is of great interest to regulators, but cautions that any potential rulemaking regarding pilot commuting must take into account pilot concerns about forced relocation that could cause personal and economic hardship.

As part of its investigation, the NTSB recommended that the FAA require all scheduled and non-scheduled operators to "address fatigue risks associated with commuting, including identifying the number of pilots who commute, establishing policy and guidance to mitigate fatigue risks, using scheduling practices to minimize opportunities for fatigue, and develop or identifying rest facilities for commuting pilots.

G.C. Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:02:42 GMT -5

PS> I completely understand your grief. And I understand your desire to fix the system. I applaud that, in fact. I just feel that some of the measures in this bill do nothing to increase safety, but do a lot to harm the industry.

More could be done in the realm of fatigue management, safety management systems, and other programs within the airlines. Internal training standards could be tightened up, and that could go a long way to weeding out the bad apples.

Again, I appreciate your efforts to improve the industry I work in. I want it to be better, and I want it to be safe. So let's all work together to put forth measures that actually increase the safety of the operation, instead of those that don't.

G.C. Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:54:53 GMT -5

I know it is unpopular with this group, but the hour requirement will do nothing to increase safety, but it will put some airlines out of business in a couple of years. Quantity of hours are irrelevant. The quality of the hours is extremely important.

A pilot who learns to fly at a school dedicated to training professional pilots, who then gets tailored training specific to the airline environment is better suited at 250 or 300 hours to flying in the part 121 world than someone with 1500 or 2000 hours who flew pipeline patrol, or towed banners for a couple of summers in Orlando.

It is the equivalent of saying someone who drives on rural highways for 1500 hours would be a better driver in Manhattan than someone who learned to drive in Manhattan, but had only driven for 300 hours in Manhattan. I'll take the New York guy every time. And you would be smart to choose the 300 hour pilot who knows how to fly in the airline environment too.

Unfortunately, the new rules coming down are the result of appeals to emotion, not rational discussions on what is best for safety. Hopefully this will be fixed sometime soon by cooler heads.

Sincerely,

An Airline Pilot

Carol Bauda Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:10:12 GMT -5

I am in awe of the tenacity of the families of 3704. What they have accomplished is truly a tribute to their loved ones and a model for government change from the grassroots level. I know my friend Beverly (Eckert) is smiling from above, as her family takes inspiration from her short life, to accomplish great things here in her memory.

Ron H Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:53:00 GMT -5

Too bad the politicians are hijacking this worthwhile issue by tagging on handouts to labor unions re Fedex. So much garbage delays or gets passed by attaching to perfectly legit issues like this. What horrible opportunists these politicians who do this are.

Here's to success without the pork and unrelated tag-alongs, and to ever more healing from losing so much.

N.F. Hoffmann Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:53:43 GMT -5

From Canada with compassion for all the families torn by this tragedy may you all find peace and some form of healing from your scars within for whatever it is worth !
Godspeed

KK Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:58:07 GMT -5

Latest on legislation - looking at an August 1st deadline. Senate
Republicans and House Democrats not playing nice (typical DC) - you'll
Be seeing our group down there a lot between now and then.

KB Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:37:08 GMT -5

What is the update on the legislation efforts?

PB Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:27:46 GMT -5

Classy people flying for our regional airlines out there...sad.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/flyinglessons/archives/213723.asp

Abq. NM Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:09:28 GMT -5

Everytime I fly into Buffalo or anywhere, I think of flight 3407 and the families.

Mike Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:10:15 GMT -5

The fact that the names of the pilots were mentioned in this memorial speaks HIGHLY of those who created this website. God Bless

D Castor Tue, 01 Jun 2010 23:46:41 GMT -5

The dirt that has been exposed in this accident absolutely blows me away. Number one I cannot believe the airlines allowed the cockpit experience levels and pilot performance records to slip to such low levels and two, how in the world do they think it is for one moment anything less than a criminal act to fight legislation to correct the issues. My hat is off to the families who in their time of sorrow have stepped up to the plate and put forth the effort to make air transportation safer for the rest of us. God bless you.

Jessie Givens Sun, 30 May 2010 14:44:37 GMT -5

This accident should be examined to the fullest to help prepare pilots and other flight crew to improve aviation safety. My deepest sympathy to all the families. I hope President Obama will be true to his word as he met with families in his visit to Buffalo, New York at the Airport in Cheektowaga, New York. May God Bless all of the families.

Hugh Boyle Fri, 21 May 2010 00:27:13 GMT -5

Met Scott Maurer on a flight from DC. Very nice man and I was most inpressed by the passion he had for this effort to improve commercial avaition safety. Keep up the very good work Scott and it was a pleasure speaking with you!

Martha Ternet Tue, 18 May 2010 14:18:34 GMT -5

As Butler season ticket holders, we were aware of this tragic accident. The newspaper reported that Kevin texted the Butler players: "play with passion" after the accident. To Kevin and all of Lorin's family, our deepest sympathy.

james vining Sun, 16 May 2010 23:51:43 GMT -5

god bless the victims of 3407