Gerard Opitz,morrisplains,nj Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:36:34 GMT -5

i was reading the testimonials and watched the slideshow..it left me in tears...so many wonderful people,,,my prayers are with you

Mike Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:40:06 GMT -5

Lots of pilots here feeling attacked. Understandable but if the shoe fits... If it doesn't the "attack" is not against you. If pilots would have policed their profession they would not have allowed a pilot who repeatably demonstrated a lack of ability among the ranks. Now in the aftermath of a tragedy the burden to do your job falls on the family members of the deceased. If you don't like this level of scrutiny in you workplace then take care of business and police yourselves. The consequences of not doing so will be continued efforts for oversight, supervision, and laws to protect the traveling public. This accident is going down as the most egregious lack of situational awareness in the history of commercial air travel. Something has to be done and criticizing the efforts of those doing the heavy lifting is absurd and makes you look like a fool.

Taylor D. Sun, 28 Mar 2010 23:58:18 GMT -5

Put two experienced pilots together on a flight, both unfit to fly that day, prone to brake rules is yet the same disaster waiting to happen. Minimum hiring regulation will enforce this bad recipe, not solve it. This tragedy proved again that there is no correlation between hours flown before hiring to an airline and responsible airmanship.
I second those who think duty time, rest time, working condition, airline proficency training rules must be overhauled to make aviation safer. The root causes must be explored that caused the chain of events and hiring minimums is not amongst them. Please don't get sidetracked.

Sassy! Sat, 27 Mar 2010 09:04:08 GMT -5

Totally agree that hiring regulations won't fix anything. I get the fact its to increase safety and if thats the way it has to be, why not push to regulate the age the modern greasy teenager can get a fast food job? They handle YOUR food, that YOU order and can contain food poison because young kids are not responsible enough. Think about that before becoming impulsive with whacky regulations

Disgruntled Pilot Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:09:36 GMT -5

While I am sorry for the loss of your family members, requiring hiring regulations on pilots will not solve anything. Accidents happen. Its a risk we all take when we step on an airplane and into our cars. Senior, more experienced pilots will still crash and lives will still be lost.

Mark Emanuele Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:04:45 GMT -5

My sincere sympathy goes out to the Loftus family as well as all the families touched by this accident, Mike Loftus, Father of one of the victims was my flight instructor back in the early 1980's. Mike, if you read this, I have sent an email to the admins of this site with my contact info. Please call me so we can talk.

M. Roberts Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:03:41 GMT -5

In the past pilots were not hired to fly as a pilot without a significant (read more than 1,500 hours) level of experience (If you quote a period during the early 60s I will point out that era saw most go to the Flight Engineer panel).

The recent business model to have outsourced regional airlines bid against each other; the winner the one with the lowest cost is clearly a recipe for disaster in a safety sensitive service such as Commercial Airlines. It should be glaringly obvious to anyone that takes just a moment to think about it, this does not pass the sniff test. As the regional airlines attempt to fight each other and win the contract the winner will be the one who has successfully assembled the product with the cheapest parts. This would include the cheapest pilots, among many other things. The cheapest pilots to accept the job will ultimately end up being the least experienced; Hence the need for a new "Minimum level" of experience.

CAPA Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:43:57 GMT -5

Please take it easy on the families here. This legislation regarding minimum pilot hours is endorsed by all the major pilot unions as a means of ensuring that new hire pilots have increased airmanship. While the families are certainly not the aviation experts, experienced pilots are qualified to have an opinion here.

Kevin A Smith Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:21:33 GMT -5

I am disgruntled by the witch hunt you are carrying out against pilots who have between 250 and 1500 hours.
Both pilots on that flight had over 1500 hours. They broke several regulations in their conduct, which led to the loss of very precious loved ones and my heart goes out all families and friends. However, punishing up-and-coming pilots is not the answer to make aviation safer.
Revamping crew rest time rules with strict enforcement together with implementing mandatory minimum crew numbers per aircraft would work well to help prevent ongoing airline abuse of regulations.

Kelly Zubler Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:50:00 GMT -5

Thanks again for your bravery and persistence in convincing Sen. Corker's office to release their hold on the upcoming Airline bill. Because you are willing to go on in your fight for airline safety, you are making sure the skies are safe for all of us. May God go with you and give you the strength to continue. I am sure that all good people are with you in their thoughts and prayers.

Yep Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:33:29 GMT -5

If you all want the government to step in and fix these problems, don't you dare be the same person who says they over control and regulate because with this crash thats exactly what you want them to do.

Amy H. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:22:46 GMT -5

I am really proud of all the hard work that you have done and continue to do.

Mark Zwerger Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:49:58 GMT -5

I grew up in western NY and somehow this tragedy struck me more than similar ones. Perhaps it was the fact that the plane was so close to making it down safely. Now that I have vied the slide show the pain of this is more real than ever. My heart goes out to all of you that lost loved ones in this awful accident. May you someday find peace in the quiet memories of those you loved and lost.

Cindy Aronson Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:58:50 GMT -5

Thanks to all of you for what you are doing to fight for safer air transportation. I realize it is sadly too late for your own loved ones. You honor their memories by working diligently and tirelessly to make changes for the rest of us to ensure that this does not happen again. God bless you for that.

Roger Karlinski Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:53:58 GMT -5

After viewing the "Flying Cheap" PBS Documentary, from what I can understand, it appears my federal tax money supports the FAA who appears to have more interest in satisfying the airline industry in cutting corners than in our airline safety of the general public. I view this as a serious conflict and it does not meet my expected level of ethics.

Regional Pilot Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:08:18 GMT -5

Training, Training, more Training...... It is a recurring theme. Yeah training could be more comprehensive but you are missing a very big point that only a few people here seem to get! Not everyone is cut out for this job. 10X training simply will not fix a pilot that really does not have an aptitude to be an airline pilot. Trying to "fix" a poor performing pilot with more training simply masks the biggest threat on the flight deck. Keeping a pilot up there who should not be up there.

Donald Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:51:03 GMT -5

The "outsourcing" of branded major airline flying to regional partners was a deliberate act that happened over the last 20 years. This was supposed to be invisible to the public at large as the regional airlines replaced major airlines with "seamless service". Insidiously what was once less than 1% of departures now represents over 50% and growing. It cannot be reversed overnight because the entire business model was built on producing the lowest cost possible by having the regional airlines bid against each other. There is no band-aid fix that will restore safety over costs in the short term.

Adam Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:27:57 GMT -5

Nichole,
I hope you don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. Hopefully together we can make a change.
Peace,
Adam

Adam Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:24:30 GMT -5

The footage after the crash 'rocked me' to the core. I'm 27, a grad student. It's stuck in my mind today as vividly as when I watched it. I was shaking and in fear at the time.

Words can't express my own anger and grief for the families over this. Wake up America. I like cheap fares just like the rest of us but at what price?

Shame on FAA and congress for not doing more to protect us. I will speak out on this. I think the answer is to charge higher fares, to pay pilots better and the people who work so hard to get us to our destinations. Thank your pilot next time for getting us there safely.

Teresa L. Missel Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:32:16 GMT -5

Our love to you always......you are all in our prayers.

Jennifer Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:45:48 GMT -5

I didn't personally know anyone on flight 3407. I just wanted to let you know that the word is spreading about the great work you are doing here. Keep it up! It's hard to believe how low the requirements are right now! I plan to send a letter to the representatives!

Mary McConnell Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:01:12 GMT -5

Thank you for the opportunity to walk with you to complete their journey home. It was an honor to be even a small part of beautiful event; your example and spirit created deeply meaningful memorial. (We've sent letters to D.C., making calls, & telling everyone we know to do so.) Every neighbor and resident we know in Clarence Center stands with you today and in the future.

Mark Weber Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:31:05 GMT -5

My song, "3407," has been connecting with a lot of people. You can hear it at http://www.meetmarkweber.com, where there's also a video showing photos of some of those who were aboard that flight.

Nichole Burns Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:25:09 GMT -5

I worked with four wonderful people who lost their lives on this flight and personally knew multiple more for a total of eleven people. It is part of my job to set up the travel arrangements for some of our associates and two of the four I put on that flight and made a promise to them that we will get them home early enough to tuck their children into bed. This is the first promise I ever made that did not come to fruition due to inadequacies in training, experience, and all around proper judgment by those I should be able to believed in. I have already sent the letters requested please let me know if there is anything else I can do. As always the families are in my prayers and thoughts.

mcgt Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:16:16 GMT -5

After seeing the PBS Documentary, "Flying Cheap" I was brought to tears and angered by what some of the "Regional" airlines do to save money and how their decisions on training, and fatigue cost the lives of your loved ones. My heartfelt prayers go out to you the families.