article <\/a>in the Buffalo News\u00a0 where\u00a0Dan Morgan, former Vice President of Safety and Regulatory Compliance for Colgan Air, acknowledged that a senior FAA official\u00a0shared “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.<\/p>\nFamily members also took offense with\u00a0the revelation\u00a0that Colgan was able to avoid FAA disciplinary action through the implementation of a safety Powerpoint presentation for its employees. \u00a0 “It is sickening to hear once again, this time from an insider, the depths that the FAA allowed regional airlines to descend to,\u201d declared\u00a0John Kausner\u00a0of Clarence Center, New York, who lost his\u00a0twenty-four year-old daughter\u00a0Elly in the crash.\u00a0 \u201cObviously 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,\u00a0the needless loss of so many lives.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 And shame on the FAA, Continental, United,\u00a0and everyone else who looked the other way and allowed this tragedy to occur.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 FAA Administrator Michael Huerta has pledged to have both rulemakings completed by their\u00a0August and October deadlines. \u00a0 “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\u00a0difficult 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.\u00a0 \u201cWith 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.\u00a0 We again call on Administrator Huerta to deliver on his promises.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407\u2019 group was immediately organized after the crash as a support network and an activist group to work on aviation safety reform.\u00a0 Visit the group\u2019s website<\/a> or follow them on twitter @3407Families<\/a> learn more about their efforts.<\/p>\nContact:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Takla Boujaoude\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0takla.3407@gmail.com \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0716-907-2425<\/p>\n
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Buffalo, New York-\u00a0June 3, 2013 The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ reacted strongly to a Sunday article in the Buffalo News\u00a0 where\u00a0Dan Morgan, former Vice President of Safety and Regulatory Compliance for Colgan Air, acknowledged that a senior FAA official\u00a0shared “very serious concerns about the safety culture at Colgan Air”, in a meeting with company […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[809,3317,3325,3342],"class_list":["post-8826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-regional-airlines","tag-co3407","tag-faa","tag-rulemaking"],"yoast_head":"\n
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