Buffalo, New York- March 31, 2011 – As the House Rules Committee voted along party lines to disallow a move to strike the controversial Shuster amendment from being considered on the House floor, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ appealed to all members to vote ‘NO’ on the amendment when the House considers the FAA Reauthorization Bill on the floor today and tomorrow. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- March 30, 2011 – As the House prepares to bring its version of the FAA Reauthorization Bill to the floor later this week, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ strongly condemned an amendment introduced by Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA). The amendment, which is in response to complaints from cargo and non-scheduled air carriers regarding the FAA’s flight and duty time Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, seeks to cripple the FAA’s efforts by imposing additional requirements on the rulemaking process that are intended to grind the long-overdue reforms to a halt. The bill could also drastically impact every safety initiative contained in PL 111-216, the Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010, the landmark aviation safety legislation that the family group helped push through Congress in response to the crash of Continental Express Flight 3407 operated by Colgan Air in February 2009. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- February 11, 2011 – In honor of the lives lost in the crash of Continental Flight 3407 on February 12th, 2009, and the efforts of the victims’ family members to fight for stronger aviation safety regulations, the #1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball team will commemorate the two-year anniversary of the crash by wearing 3407 patches on their uniforms in Saturday’s nationally-televised game vs #13 Wisconsin (2 pm ET tipoff on ESPN). (more…)
Buffalo, New York- February 10, 2011 – Just two days prior to the two year anniversary of the tragic crash of Continental Flight 3407, the “Families of Continental Flight 3407′ lashed out at an amendment put forth by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), which they say would severely undermine their push for new flight and duty time regulations. These revised regulations, which have been at the top of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Most Wanted List for over twenty years, have been a top priority for the group ever since the NTSB’s investigation focused on the impact of pilot fatigue on the crash.
Buffalo, New York- February 4, 2011 – In advance of next Saturday’s two year anniversary of the tragedy that took the lives of their fifty one loved ones, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ announced that group members would be in Washington on Tuesday, February 8th to continue their push for higher safety standards at our nation’s regional airlines. The group’s plans include meetings with the leadership and new members of the Aviation Subcommittees in both House, as well as attendance at a House Aviation Subcommittee hearing on the FAA Reauthorization Bill at which FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt will be testifying.
Buffalo, New York- January 12, 2011 – The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ praised the Department of Transportation for releasing as promised its guidance on new regional airline disclosure requirements (http://airconsumer.dot.gov/rules/guidance.htm), and called for all online ticket agents, in particular, US Airways and websites Expedia and Travelocity, to take expedient action in doing away with the currently misleading use of mouseovers, symbols, and hyperlinks.
Buffalo, New York- December 21, 2010 – With Department of Transportation guidance on new regional airline disclosure requirements expected in January, The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ continued their push for expedient action by the government agency and all Internet sites, and expressed their disappointment with recent quotes by representatives of online ticketing agency (OTA) giants Expedia and Travelocity suggesting that the DOT was at fault for dragging its feet on issuing new guidelines. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- December 14, 2010 – The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ are conducting a nationwide outreach to all air travelers, as a result of a Buffalo News survey (http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article282269.ece) and their own research indicating that US Airways and seven of the top ten Internet airline ticketing sites are not immediately disclosing regional air carriers operating flights for mainline carriers under codeshare agreements. With these websites seemingly ignoring a provision in the new aviation safety legislation that became law in August which requires full transparency when in comes to identifying regional carriers, the group is in the midst of an awareness campaign entitled ‘Who’s REALLY Flying Your Plane?”, and is asking concerned passengers to voice their concerns with the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- December 2, 2010 – Turning their attention from getting major aviation safety legislation passed to getting it implemented, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ announced the kickoff of a major public outreach effort aimed at raising the flying public’s awareness of regional airlines operating flights under the auspices of the mainline carriers. The campaign also targets airlines, ticketing agents, and websites that are not complying with a new federal regulation requiring transparency in the advertisement of regional carriers. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- December 1, 2010 – The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ continued their push for a true ‘One Level of Safety’ between mainline and regional airlines by submitting their formal comments to the FAA’s recently proposed new rulemaking on pilot flight and duty times. They called for more aggressive action on the serious issue of fatigue caused by pilot commuting practices, and challenged the FAA and Administrator Randy Babbitt to issue a final fatigue rule by the August 1, 2011 deadline imposed by Congress. (The comment submitted by the group to the FAA is included below.) (more…)