Sullenberger to Appear This Week at Senate, House Safety Hearings
Flight 3407 Families Trumpet Credentials of ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ Pilot
Buffalo, New York – April 27th, 2015
With the expiration of the most recent FAA Reauthorization fast approaching, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ applauded the inclusion of Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger at safety hearings to be held by the Senate and House Aviation Subcommittees this week. The family group also announced that it will be in attendance at both hearings, the Senate’s to be held on Tuesday at 2:30 pm, and the House’s to be held Thursday at 2:00 pm.
“As Senator Thune, Congressman Shuster, and the rest of their committee and subcommittee leadership consider this FAA Reauthorization Bill, it is absolutely critical that safety be put first above all else, especially in regards to industry pressure regarding our country’s increased qualification requirements for regional airline first officers” declared Scott Maurer of Brandon, Florida, who lost his thirty year old daughter Lorin. “We are very pleased that Captain Sullenberger has been included in these very important safety discussions, as his decades of experience and perspective on the airline industry uniquely qualify him to shine a light on the importance of not rolling back or watering down any of the significant progress that has been made in regional airline safety since the very preventable tragedy of Flight 3407. There is no substitute for experience, and the teamwork of Captain Sullenberger and First Officer Skiles in accomplishing the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ speak to that in the strongest way possible.”
Tuesday’s Senate hearing, which is entitled “FAA Reauthorization: Aviation Safety and General Aviation” and will be held in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, is part of a recent series of hearings focused on the FAA Reauthorization. In addition to Sullenberger, it will feature witnesses from the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, and Regional Airline Association. On Thursday, the House’s Aviation Subcommittee will include Sullenberger on a safety roundtable, which will be held at 2:00 pm in Room 2167 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
“In the aftermath of Flight 3407, we are now going on six-plus years with no fatal crashes of U.S. domestic carriers, by far and away the safest such period in our nation’s aviation history.” stated Karen Eckert of Williamsville, New York, who lost her sister Beverly Eckert, a prominent 9/11 widow and activist. “This has been made possible by the unanimous Congressional passage and implementation of the Airline Safety Act of 2010, and the collective increased scrutiny and efforts of Congress, government agencies like FAA, DOT, and the NTSB, the airlines, pilots, and safety groups like ourselves. To totally reverse course in this FAA Reauthorization and bend to lobbying pressure with concessions to the airlines would be completely irresponsible and send the wrong message to the industry that the old status quo of code share contracts and the ‘race to the bottom’ are once again acceptable. And there can be no more well-qualified person to make this case than Captain Sullenberger; we look forward to being there with him as he stands up for ‘One Level of Safety'”
Contact: Takla Boujaoude takla.3407@gmail.com 716-907-2425
