Buffalo, New York- October 28, 2010 – In the wake of an National Transportation Safety Board symposium on airline code-share agreements and their impact on safety, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ issued the following statement: (more…)
Buffalo, New York- October 20, 2010 – The ‘Families of Continental/United/Pinnacle/Colgan Flight 3407’ praised members of both houses of Congress who sent strong messages last week to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt not to give in to industry pressure to accept a rulemaking advisory committee proposal that would effectively cripple a critical aviation safety measure that was recently signed into law. The committee, dominated by the airlines and special interests, recommended that the FAA work around a Congressional provision intended to require all first officers on commercial airlines to possess the same Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license as that required of captains, by allowing classroom training to substitute for 1,000 of the 1,500 flight hours required for the license. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- October 11, 2010 – In response to a Wall Street Journal article (‘FAA Mulls Proposals for Pilot Qualifications’) that suggested it was likely that the Federal Aviation Administration would ’embrace’ a proposal from an Aviation Rulemaking Committee that would drastically undercut recently-passed bipartisan aviation safety legislation, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ lashed out at the Committee’s majority report and the Regional Airline Association (RAA) who spearheaded its efforts. In the proposal, the RAA put forth the recommendation that the FAA water down Congress’s 1,500 flight hour minimum for newly-hired pilots to a much more industry-friendly 500 hour threshold, which would effectively short-circuit Congress’s attempt to significantly reduce the experience gap in the cockpits of regional carriers versus the major carriers. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- September 30, 2010 – With members of Congress preparing to head back to their home turf for the approaching mid-term elections, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ challenged members of both Houses to not lose sight of recently-passed aviation safety legislation, and the FAA’s responsibility to implement it. Last month, President Obama signed PL 111-216 into law, putting in motion numerous reforms designed to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy of the February 12, 2009 crash of Continental Flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- September 10, 2010 – With the Department of Aviation and Federal Aviation Administration finally releasing the long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on new pilot flight and duty time regulations, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ offered the following statement: (more…)
Buffalo, New York- September 9, 2010 – With Congress having passed comprehensive aviation safety legislation in the aftermath of the crash of Continental Flight 3407, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ have now set their sights on the Federal Aviation Administration’s implementation of the law. A cornerstone to the legislation is the provision dealing with minimum pilot qualifications, and the family members are challenging FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt to stand firm on Congress’s mandate that all commercial airline First Officers have an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license with 1,500 hours of flight time. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- July 29, 2010 – With both the House and Senate positioned to finally pass much-needed aviation safety legislation on Thursday, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ implored Senate Republicans to continue the broad bipartisan support that the group’s advocacy has attracted in the aftermath of the needless tragedy of Flight 3407. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- July 26, 2010 – Looking forward to getting the FAA Reauthorization Bill to the Senate floor this Tuesday to keep the bill on track for overall passage by the August 1st deadline, the hopes of the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ received a crushing blow when negotiations fell apart on Thursday night as Senator Mark Warner of Virginia stubbornly refused to give ground to Western senators hoping to ease decades-old restrictions on long-haul flights into Reagan National Airport. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- July 19, 2010 – With only 12 days to pass the FAA Reauthorization Bill before the latest extension expires and Congress heads on a six-week summer recess, members of the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ will be in Washington all week, pushing the House and Senate to come to resolution on a compromise joint version of the bill. Group members expressed disappointment in the lack of a response to their requests to meet with Senator Jay Rockefeller (WV), the Chairman of the Senate’s Commerce Committee, and Senator Byron Dorgan (ND), the Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, key leaders involved in negotiations on the bill. (more…)
Buffalo, New York- July 15, 2010 – After months of watching Congress dance around the issue of regional airline safety and struggle to achieve a joint version of the FAA Reauthorization Bill, members of the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ say that they tired of waiting and will descend on Washington for the 32nd time next week to push for resolution on the bill. (more…)