Group Continues to Press for Timely Implementation of Aviation Safety Bill Buffalo, New York- February 1, 2012 – With the three year anniversary of the tragic crash of Continental Flight 3407 less than two weeks away, the “Families of Continental Flight 3407” announced that they would be heading to Washington Read more…
Buffalo, New York- January 6, 2012 – As the Christmas season officially comes to an end on the proverbial twelfth day, the sisters of Flight 3407 victim Mary Abraham recognized the progress made by the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration in 2011, and challenged Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to continue to step up and meet key deadlines on Congressionally-mandated aviation safety reforms in 2012. Many key milestones revolve around August 1, 2012, the two year anniversary of the date that President Obama signed the ‘Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010’ into law.
Buffalo, New York- January 3, 2012 – After missing their thirty-year old daughter for yet another holiday season, the parents of Flight 3407 victim Lorin Maurer challenged Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to issue strong new requirements for the Airline Transport Pilot rating, in accordance with a powerful Congressional mandate in landmark aviation safety legislation passed last year. With regional airlines stooping to lower and lower levels to hire their entry-level first officers, often right out of flight school, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ have made this FAA rulemaking effort their highest priority.
Buffalo, New York- December 28, 2011 – Three holiday seasons after they lost their father and husband in the crash of Continental Flight 3407, the family of Darren Tolsma called on Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to continue forward with a rulemaking covering the critical areas of pilot mentoring, professional development and leadership training. This rulemaking project also includes a key component of sterile cockpit training, one of the glaring issues revealed by the NTSB’s post-crash analysis of the cockpit voice recorder.
Buffalo, New York- December 28, 2011 – In the midst of their third holiday season without their father and husband after Continental Flight 3407 crashed into their house on Long Street in Clarence Center, New York, the family of Doug Wielinski called on Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, to finally take action on a long-standing NTSB safety recommendation to require the installation of low airspeed alerters in all commercial airplanes. This recommendation, which dates back to 1982 and was reiterated in the 2005 crash which took the life of Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, seeks to address the issue of pilots being surprised by aerodynamic stalls and not being able to execute a recovery from that condition.
Buffalo, New York- December 20, 2011 – Approaching the third Christmas after the crash of Continental Flight 3407, the family of thirty-seven year old Kristin Safran, a bottled water industry executive, wife, and mother of two, urged the FAA under the direction of acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, to fully implement all safety recommendations put forth by the National Transportation Safety Board in its final report on the crash. The group’s push comes on the heels of the FAA’s report to Congress on the status of all open safety recommendations, including the twenty-eight recommendations associated with Flight 3407.
Buffalo, New York- December 19, 2011 – Approaching the third Christmas after the crash of Continental Flight 3407, the family of fifty-four year old Ernie West, one of four victims employed by Northrop Grumman, urged Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to speed up the implementation of a computerized pilot training records database. With the NTSB investigation revealing that Colgan Air, the regional airline operating Flight 3407, was not aware of prior training deficiencies when the company hired both pilots on the flight, the creation of this electronic database was one of the key reforms mandated by Congress in the wake of the tragedy.
Buffalo, New York- December 17, 2011 – With Christmas just a week away, the family of fifty-three year old Jerome ‘Jerry’ Krasuski, a defense contractor for Northrup Grumman who was lost in the crash of Continental Flight 3407, urged the Department of Transportation and Secretary Ray LaHood to continue to diligently enforce stricter code share disclosure requirements. With many of the passengers of Flight 3407 not even aware that they had bought a ticket on a flight operated by regional airline Colgan Air rather than its parent carrier Continental (now United) Airlines, Congress passed legislation in August 2010 which included a requirement for all internet ticket sites to prominently display the regional airline actually operating each code share flight, for the public to view and consider when shopping for plane tickets.
Buffalo, New York- December 13, 2011 – As another Christmas approaches, the family of twenty-seven year old Johnathan Perry, who was lost in the crash of Continental Flight 3407, beseeched the Obama administration, particularly Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, to complete a rulemaking addressing minimum qualifications for all first officers on commercial airlines. As some regional airlines have been hiring pilots with experience levels barely above to the current federal minimum of 250 hours, and paying wages commensurate with that experience, this initiative will take a meaningful step towards achieving the goal of a true ‘One Level of Safety’ between major and regional airlines.
Buffalo, New York- December 13, 2011 – With another empty Christmas approaching, the family of acclaimed jazz musician and Chuck Mangione Band member Coleman Mellett begged for the Obama administration, particularly Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, to meet the Congressionally-mandated August 1, 2012 deadline for a final rule on safety management systems. These best practice programs, which seek to avoid accidents by identifying potentially dangerous trends and addressing them in a preventative manner, are not federally mandated, and consequently, not as frequently employed by regional airlines as by their parent carriers.