Buffalo, New York- June 3, 2013

The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ reacted strongly to a Sunday article in the Buffalo News  where Dan Morgan, former Vice President of Safety and Regulatory Compliance for Colgan Air, acknowledged that a senior FAA official shared “very serious concerns about the safety culture at Colgan Air”, in a meeting with company officials just six months prior to the fatal crash of Flight 3407.

Family members also took offense with the revelation that Colgan was able to avoid FAA disciplinary action through the implementation of a safety Powerpoint presentation for its employees.   “It is sickening to hear once again, this time from an insider, the depths that the FAA allowed regional airlines to descend to,” declared John Kausner of Clarence Center, New York, who lost his twenty-four year-old daughter Elly in the crash.  “Obviously the convenient thing to do for Colgan and Pinnacle to do was to pin this on the pilot and first officer, but this account provides further evidence of an across-the-board, minor league operation at this airline, which resulted in numerous safety shortcuts and ultimately, the needless loss of so many lives.  Whether it be maintenance deficiencies, inexperienced pilots, or even the idea that a Colgan Vice President had to use a credit card to refuel a plane because the company hadn’t been paying its bills, this article dramatically highlights that our loved ones boarded a plane operated by an airline that was a disaster-waiting-to-happen.  And shame on the FAA, Continental, United, and everyone else who looked the other way and allowed this tragedy to occur.”

The family group used this article to call attention to two well-publicized rulemakings that have been stalled between FAA, DOT, and the White House Office of Management and Budget, which would significantly raise the safety bar for the nation’s regional airlines.  FAA Administrator Michael Huerta has pledged to have both rulemakings completed by their August and October deadlines.   “As we have throughout this whole process, we are going to continue to try and find a way to look forward and not back, as difficult as that continues to be,” stated Susan Bourque of East Aurora, New York, who lost her sister and prominent 9/11 widow and activist Beverly Eckert.  “With the impending rulemakings on pilot qualifications and crewmember training, FAA and DOT have an opportunity to significantly close the gap between regional airlines like Colgan and Pinnacle, and their mainline partners. This article should be another reminder for those working on these rulemakings, as well as everyone in the industry, of what can happen when economic concerns are allowed to trump safety.  We again call on Administrator Huerta to deliver on his promises.”

The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ group was immediately organized after the crash as a support network and an activist group to work on aviation safety reform.  Visit the group’s website or follow them on twitter @3407Families learn more about their efforts.

Contact:      Takla Boujaoude                    takla.3407@gmail.com                     716-907-2425

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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Buffalo, New York- May 21, 2013

With Key Safety Rules Hanging in the Balance, Flight 3407 Families to Attend Foxx’s Senate Confirmation Hearing on Wednesday

Families Call on Obama Administration to Stand Up to Airlines’ Pressure to Water Down Regional Airline Safety Reforms

With the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in a sprint to finish one key regional airline safety measure by August 1st, and a second by mid-October, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ announced that they would be present at Wednesday’s Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing for Mayor Anthony Foxx.     “There is no doubt that the airlines are employing every trick in their lobbying playbook to find the weakest link at FAA, DOT, or OMB and get them to agree to water down these proposed regulations in their favor,” declared Scott Maurer of Moore, South Carolina, who lost his thirty year-old daughter Lorin in the crash.  “Over the past few decades, trade associations like Airlines for America and the Regional Airline Association have been the undisputed heavyweight champions when it has come to taking on safety advocacy groups like us and finding a way to obstruct the rulemaking process.

As Mayor Foxx potentially enters the fray here at the eleventh hour, you can be sure that he has already heard, or will be hearing, from multiple industry henchmen that the sky is about to fall for the airlines if these new regulations are allowed to be implemented in the strongest manner intended by Congress.  Hopefully, he follows the lead of his predecessor Secretary LaHood and puts safety first, ensuring that passengers on regional airlines receive the most highly-qualified and well-trained crew possible.  If only Colgan/Pinnacle/Continental/United would have done the same for Lorin.”     The two rules under consideration are the ‘Pilot Certification and Qualification Requirements’ rulemaking, as well as the ‘Qualification, Service, and Use of Crewmembers and Aircraft Dispatchers’ rulemaking.  The former, which will significantly enhance both the qualitative and quantitative requirements for a First Officer to be hired by a regional airline, is currently at OMB, and must be published by August 1st.  The latter, which will provide a much-needed update to the FAA’s requirements on how regional airlines train their pilots, is now 20 months overdue, and targeted for completion by October 21st.  It is still at FAA, and is scheduled to be sent to DOT on June 3rd.   “In light of the extensive delays that have already occurred with these rulemakings, this is certainly not the ideal time for transition to be occurring at DOT,” stated Karen Eckert of Williamsville, New York, who lost her sister and prominent 9/11 widow and activist Beverly Eckert.  “The objectives of FAA and DOT have historically been muddled by the so-called ‘dual mandate’ of regulating safety while at the same time promoting the growth of the aviation industry in the United States.  Safety costs money, and there is always going to be some industry resistance when it comes to implementing stronger safety regulations, in this case geared towards the regional airline industry.

Hopefully Mayor Foxx is able to grasp the significant gap that still exists in our quest for a true ‘One Level of Safety’ between our nation’s mainline and regional carriers, and provide true leadership in seeing both of these rulemakings completed in not only a timely, but also the strongest, manner possible.”   Wednesday’s confirmation hearing for Mayor Foxx will he held at 2:30 p.m. in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, the hearing room for the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.  It will be led by Chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member Sen. John Thune (R-SD).

The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ group was immediately organized after the crash as a support network and an activist group to work on aviation safety reform.  Visit the group’s website or follow them on twitter @3407Families learn more about their efforts.

Contact:      Takla Boujaoude                    takla.3407@gmail.com                     716-907-2425

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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Flight 3407 Families to DOT Nominee Foxx: “Safety Must Be Top Priority”

Buffalo, New York- May 1, 2013

The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s nomination of Anthony Foxx to be the next Transportation Secretary:

“As numerous entities weigh in on Mayor Foxx’s nomination in terms of the ability of his cabinet seat to influence jobs and the economy in the transportation sector, our group serves as a reminder that economic-driven shortcuts employed by some regional airlines can have disastrous consequences.  While we are all for promoting the economy, we learned the hard way what can happen when the airlines are allowed to run roughshod over the FAA, owing to a laissez-faire approach to the industry by the White House in the years leading up to February 12, 2009.

“Looking back on the last four years since this needless tragedy, we applaud Secretary LaHood’s continued prioritization of safety across all modes of transportation, in particular his success in steering through landmark new flight and duty time guidelines which will greatly improve the plight of regional airline pilots.  The next six months are a critical period for DOT and FAA in terms of achieving full implementation of the 2010 Airline Safety Act, and this transition at the top of the Department of Transportation cannot be allowed to cause any further delay to key rulemakings on pilot qualifications and crewmember training.   “We look forward to following Mayor Foxx’s Senate confirmation process closely, and learning more about his positions on key transportation safety issues.”

The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ group was immediately organized after the crash as a support network and an activist group to work on aviation safety reform.  Visit the group’s website or follow them on twitter @3407Families learn more about their efforts.
Contact:      Takla Boujaoude                    takla.3407@gmail.com                     716-907-2425

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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Buffalo, New York- March 19, 2013 – With two deadlines for critical safety rules fast-approaching, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ announced that they will be in attendance at Wednesday’s hearing to be held by the Senate Commerce Committee on “Aviation Safety: FAA’s Progress on Key Safety Initiatives.”

• Pilot Qualifications Rule Due August 1st
• Pilot Training Final Rule Due Mid-October

“We are really getting down to crunch time with these critical final rules on pilot qualifications and training,” stated Scott Maurer of Moore, South Carolina, who lost his thirty year-old daughter Lorin.  “When you are dealing with a bureaucratic Bermuda Triangle of FAA, DOT, and OMB, there are plenty of opportunities for delays and missteps to occur.  And as always the airlines and their lobbyists are lurking in the shadows trying to stall and water down these initiatives in any way possible.  We are counting on Administrator Huerta to deliver good news in terms of his agency’s progress in (finally) achieving these safety reforms.  They are critical in raising the bar for our nation’s regional airlines and their commitment to, and investment in, safety.”  The “Pilot Certification and Qualification Requirements” rulemaking, which will significantly raise the entry level qualifications of First Officers at regional airlines, is due on August 1 of this year.  The “Qualification, Service, and Use of Crewmembers and Aircraft Dispatchers” rulemaking, which will revamp the pilot training curriculum for commercial airlines, has been in progress at FAA since 1999, is already over 17 months overdue, and now faces a revised deadline of October 21 of this year.   In addition to FAA Administrator Huerta, the hearing will feature testimony from NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman, whose agency was responsible for the investigation and final report on the crash of Flight 3407.  The NTSB’s findings were a driving force behind many of the provisions included in the 2010 Airline Safety Act.  “Chairman Hersman’s presence will serve as a vivid reminder of why these safety initiatives needed to be implemented yesterday” stated Susan Bourque, of East Aurora, New York, who lost her sister, Beverly Eckert, a noted 9/11 widow and activist.  “She consistently makes the argument that ‘Safety delayed is safety denied’, and when you look at the FAA’s foot-dragging when it comes to addressing the issues revealed by the Flight 3407 investigation like stall recognition and recovery training, and the maintenance of comprehensive pilot training records, that mantra could not be any more evident.  Every unaddressed safety recommendation leaves a dangerous gap that could potentially result in another completely avoidable tragedy like Flight 3407.  Shame on FAA, DOT, OMB, and yes, even the White House, if we cannot finally complete these common-sense safety reforms.”

Wednesday’s hearing will be held at 2:30 pm in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Contact:    Takla Boujaoude                     takla.3407@gmail.com                716-907-2425

The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ group was immediately organized after the crash as a support network and an activist group to work on aviation safety reform.  Visit the group’s website at  or follow them on twitter to learn more about their efforts.

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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Flight 3407 Families Call on Commerce Committee to Support Huerta’s Nomination;  Group is Counting on Acting Administrator to Complete Key Rulemaking on Pilot Training and Qualifications in Swift Manner

Buffalo, New York- July 31, 2012

With the Senate’s Commerce Committee scheduled to hold an executive session on Tuesday afternoon to consider the nomination of Michael Huerta as FAA Administrator, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ called on Chairman John D. ‘Jay’ Rockefeller (D-WV), ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), and their colleagues on the committee to approve the nomination of Huerta, and send his name to the entire Senate body for its approval.  At the same time, the group underscored the importance of Huerta living up to his pledge to Chairman Rockefeller at his confirmation hearing to expedite a long-overdue rulemaking that would revamp airlines’ pilot training programs.  And the group continues to press the FAA to withstand industry pressure and finalize a rulemaking that would significantly enhance the entry-level requirements for commercial airline first officers.

“Since Mr. Huerta took over as acting Administrator, he has made a sincere effort to get to know our group and to understand our passion for achieving a true ‘One Level of Safety’ when comparing our nation’s regional airlines with their parent carriers,” stated Susan Bourque of East Aurora, New York, who lost her sister and noted 9/11 widow and activist Beverly Eckert.  “We appreciate the efforts of him and his staff to date in implementing many of the provisions contained in the law that we fought to get passed two years ago, and we would like to see him receive the opportunity to continue to advance the many initiatives that are still in progress.  However, the true legacy will not lie in what is contained in the law itself, but rather in what is contained in the regulations that come forth from it.  And of course, in the timeliness that it is implemented with.  Despite heavy push-back from the airlines and other industry sectors, we are counting on Mr. Huerta to see these rulemaking through to completion, to not allow the industry’s lobbying machine to water them down, and to complete these actions in the quickest manner possible in the interest of safety.”

In August 2010, Congress unanimously passed, and the President signed into law, PL 111-216, ‘The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010’, the most sweeping aviation legislation passed in over fifty years.  The legislation was primarily geared toward addressing safety deficiencies found at some of the nation’s regional airlines, with key provisions aimed at pilot fatigue, training, minimum entry-level hiring qualifications, airline safety management programs, and the creation of a national training records database.

The Commerce Committee’s executive session to consider Huerta’s nomination will be held this afternoon, Tuesday, July 31st, at 2:30 p.m. in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ group was immediately organized after the crash as a support network and an activist group to work on aviation safety reform. Visit the group’s website or follow them on twitter @3407families to learn more about their efforts.

Contact:    Takla Boujaoude                     takla.3407@gmail.com                716-907-2425

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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Air France Flight 447 Report Cites Lack of Training in ‘Surprise Situations’; Hauntingly Similar to Flight 3407 Findings

Buffalo, New York- July 10, 2012 – Responding to last week’s release of a final report on the causes of the fatal 2009 Air France crash that claimed 228 lives, the ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ continued to press officials in the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation, and the White House Office of Management and Budget to pick up the pace in finalizing critical pilot training improvements that would address a recurring problem of pilots improperly responding to emergency situations.  The timeline for these safety reforms, which were unanimously approved by both houses of Congress in 2010 and directed to be completed by October 2011, has recently been pushed back to October 2013 by the FAA and the Obama Administration.

Citing a process which already dates back to 1999, and which includes heavy industry pressure to delay the FAA’s efforts, the family group called on acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to come through for the flying public and put safety ahead of the industry’s bottom line.   “Just like with what the NTSB found with Flight 3407, the Air France final report underscores the dramatic need to better train our pilots to react to emergency situations, and in particular to not be so heavily reliant on the automation in the cockpit,” stated Scott Maurer of Moore, South Carolina, who lost his thirty-year old daughter Lorin.  “And it is not just one crash investigation calling for this; it is multiple crash investigations, and it is expert pilots like Sully Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles from the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’.  Everyone keeps saying that we need to re-emphasize pilots’ manual flying skills, and train their responses to emergency situations in a more realistic and robust way, and yet we continue to see the FAA spinning its wheels.

Shame on us if we continue to let months and years pass because we can’t cut through the bureaucratic red tape and achieve a common-sense solution that has been staring us in the face for the past three years.  And don’t get me started on the airlines doing this voluntarily; voluntary compliance, or the lack thereof, is exactly why the crash of Flight 3407 happened in the first place.”    The group called on FAA and the Administration to live up to Huerta’s pledge to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. ‘Jay’ Rockefeller (D-WV) to ‘provide the resources to get this done as quickly as possible’, in reference to a process which has already included industry input from a rule making advisory committee and two rounds of proposed rules with comment periods.  Of even greater concern, the FAA’s latest proposal carries a five year compliance window, which would potentially not require the changes until 2019, over 10 years after the Flight 3407 crash.

Contact:         Takla Boujaoude          takla.3407@gmail.com                     716-907-2425

The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ group was immediately organized after the crash as a support network and an activist group to work on aviation safety reform.  Visit the group’s website or follow them on twitter @3407families to learn more about their efforts.

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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Late yesterday, by a vote of 93-0, the Senate (finally) passed the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act.  The FAA has been authorized by short-term extensions since 2007, it took a lot to get to this point.

Just this year:

• FAA is now under its twelfth short-term authorization, valid until the start of July.
• Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) had put a hold on the bill, due to his interest in protecting FedEx from unionization.  On March 11, he lifted his hold, because language changing labor laws, was removed (via tradingmarkets.com).
• Family members of the victims of Flight 3407 lobbied tirelessly for increased regulation and oversignt for regional airlines (via WGRZ).  Pilot training, pilot records and pilot fatigue are all addressed.

WKBW News has a good summary of what the Senate passed.  The next step is to resolve differences with the House version.  Hopefully it won’t take three months, but yesterday, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) said, “we have our work cut out for us,” to reconcile (via @AvWeekScho).

• Funding of NextGen, the future air traffic control system, is a point of contention for some interest groups.  Airlines will be required to pay for their onboard equipment (Seattle Times).  But, it is otherwise a very expensive project.   FAA defended the costs late last week (from nextgov).
• Use or not of passenger and facility fees is of interest to groups like the Air Transport Association and the American Association of Airport Executives, who are to have their voices heard as reconciliation begins.
• The labor law language Sen. Corker opposed will still need to be worked out.  More on the disputed items from GovExec.
• The Senate version includes a “Passenger Bill of Rights,” which aims to limit the time spent on the tarmac, in the event of delays.  Some airlines have said complying would be a hardship and, at certain airports, have already requested extensions (New York Times).

For everyone (legislators, staff, interest groups, industry, concerned citizens) who worked toward this for the last four years, thank you!  Although there is satisfaction, I imagine (and have heard) there is also a bit of resentment.  Four years is a long time to be operating in a tentative framework.  For the goverment agencies, it is especially difficult to operate with no long-term directive.  So, may this be the beginning of something better.

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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I wanted to acknowledge four recent accidents that have communities around the country mourning.  Smaller plane crashes seldom get wider news coverage, but our thoughts go out to those families, friends of the victims.  Please reach out if you need assistance.  Investigations are ongoing with the NTSB and FAA.

Illinois: Two weeks ago, two died when a Lear jet crashed near Chicago Executive Airport (via WLS-TV).

Hawaii: Last week, on Oahu, two died in a small plane crash. In a preliminary report from the NTSB, the pilot was off course and the single engine Piper had no evident mechanical issues (via the Honolulu Advertiser).

Alabama: On Monday, two people died in a private twin engine plane crash near Madison, Alabama (via WANDTV).

Ohio: Also Monday, a twin engine plane with four passengers crashed in Lorain County, Ohio.  Three died.  The crash has sparked discussion about the possible impact of funding cuts to the Lorain Regional Airport (via WKYC-TV).

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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