The investigation shows the crash last February 12th was preventable. The evidence paints a picture of a pilot and co-pilot who may have been flying tired and distracted by their non-flight-related conversations. Investigators say the captain and first officer seemed startled when the stick shaker activated to warn them of a stall on their approach to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, and in their confusion they reacted in the wrong way with deadly results. The plane crashed in Clarence Center killing all 49 people on board and one man on the ground.
"What I'm hearing now is they were unprepared and un-alert and not paying attention, and it's devastating," says Sharon Green, who's husband Bradley was on the plane. She and others listening to the findings together in a room set up at the Millenium Hotel in Cheektowaga on Tuesday hope the more than 20 recommendations coming out of this investigation will actually be enacted. Among the recommendations is to add the element of surprise to pilot training for stall emergencies in an effort to help them avoid being startled in real life situations. Colgan Air, which operated flight 3407, says the pilots were well-trained, and they will continue to add new safety measures.
For the victims' families though nothing can bring back their loved ones. "The thing that I always think of that amazes me that I can't comprehend is that this is something that happened at my house, and that's hard," says Karen Wielinski who lost her husband and her Long Street home when the plane crashed into it.
"When they say turn tragedy into triumph I think that's really important. That has to come out of this because there's a moral obligation to make some changes in aviation safety. There just really is," says Sharon Green.
There was much talk about icing in the initial crash aftermath but investigators say the weather that night did not cause this crash. The plane and the crew were equipped to handle the conditions had the pilots reacted the right way.
Twitter
Facebook