Colgan 3407 Families Want Change

F

Firebird2XC

Well-Known Member
(full article here)
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/art...efore-another-airline-crash-brings-more-grief

Families want changes before another airline crash brings more grief


Sixteen months after a commuter airliner crashed near Buffalo, killing the daughter of a Moore couple, families of the victims labor to pressure Congress and regulators for safety improvements.

It is a labor of love for those who died, the families say, but also one fraught with frustration over the slow pace for meaningful change.The frustration results from the reality “that anything you try to do through the political process is a very, very slow process,” said Scott Maurer, whose daughter, Lorin, was among those killed in the Colgan Air crash in February 2009.
“On one hand, perhaps that’s good because you wouldn’t want flippant things to be done — that just make changes at a whim,” he said. “You wouldn’t want laws being passed that are just a rush to judgment or a rush to change.”
But “living on the dark side of the world that I live in today, you just know that change has to take place,” Maurer said. “And had the changes taken place when they should of, the result of the previous accidents that are so much similar to the one that we suffered, you know that our accident could have been prevented.”
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www.remember3407project.org


We started something. They're behind it. Together we can make it happen.
 
Victims' Families Raise Money for Memorial and Awareness About Airline Safety Concerns


CLARENCE CENTER, N.Y. - The victims of Continental Flight 3407 were remembered and honored Saturday morning at the Second Annual Flight 3407 Memorial 5K Race in Clarence Center. More than 800 runners and walkers participated in the event. All proceeds will help fund a permanent memorial for the victims of Flight 3407.
Fifty people died when Flight 3407 crashed in Clarence Center, New York on February 12, 2009. Pictures of the victims lined the race route. Many victims' family members took part by running or walking in the event. They were pleased by the turnout, the nice weather, and the support they continue to receive from the community.
"It does help," said Tina Siniscalco, who lost her sister Mary Abraham on Flight 3407. "Just being around other family members. It helps cause we all can relate to each other and just to see the community out supporting us and the little kids cheering it's just wonderful," Siniscalco said.
Family members have been pushing Congress to enact tougher airline safety rules for regional air carriers. The House and Senate have passed their own airline safety bills. They are trying to resolve differences in each version, but the process hasn't been easy.
Laura Voigt, who lost her sister Elly Kausner on Flight 3407 said, "Yes it's frustrating but you know that it's not like it's we're the exception to that rule, this is politics and what I do believe is that the people in Washington are really trying to support us on the whole and that is very encouraging."
Family members hope the differences are resolved soon, and that President Obama will sign new airline safety measures into law by July 4th.
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It looks like this will be remembered after all.


www.remember3407project.org


Original article:

http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=77618
 
I hope they do something too, but you know politicians...

A lot of this comes down to money and keeping the airlines afloat. If they went to 12 hour duty days (I would love that!), a lot of these airlines that are pushing guys 15 hours would have to hire lots of new guys. 1500TT while right now not a big issue, since lots of guys have more than that, down the road could lead to more hiring problems.

I think they are afraid if they make the changes some of the airlines will bust. Hopefully all sides can settle on something that adds to safety and is somewhat inexpensive. If we can find that, then I am sure the politicians will be more likely to run with it.
 
Callador said:
I hope they do something too, but you know politicians...

A lot of this comes down to money and keeping the airlines afloat. If they went to 12 hour duty days (I would love that!), a lot of these airlines that are pushing guys 15 hours would have to hire lots of new guys. 1500TT while right now not a big issue, since lots of guys have more than that, down the road could lead to more hiring problems.

I think they are afraid if they make the changes some of the airlines will bust. Hopefully all sides can settle on something that adds to safety and is somewhat inexpensive. If we can find that, then I am sure the politicians will be more likely to run with it.
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The airlines have been playing both sides and having their cake and eating it too for years. As John Prater of ALPA said, we have "one level of regulation... we do not have one level of safety."

If the higher level of safety at the majors and legacies exceeds that of the so-called 'regionals' it's because they exceed the regulations. Therefore, if regionals are to match them, they need to raise the regulatory requirements in several areas. Clearly leaving the companies to seek the minimum legal requirements inspires no aspiration for greater safety. The dollar comes first. All else comes second.
 
The business model where the lowest bidding regional "wins" is a safety bust. The winning bidder will be the one to find the cheapest planes, the cheapest maintenance, the cheapest employees, etc, etc. Trying to build "safe" with "cheap" doesn't happen. As time marched forward from the point where this all started there has been a constant decay as cleaver managers and business leaders figured out how to out cheap their competitors. In the end we were left with a pilot who held the yoke full aft ignoring the stick shaker, stick pusher, airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, put the airplane into a spin at the FAF, killing all aboard.
 
The traveling public deserves better, the average line pilot deserves better, and yet I doubt any change will occur in the next few years. 1500TT is not much to ask of an applicant much like one level of safety isn't much to ask of an industry. Pilots will be there for the jobs if the career is worth the effort... but right now 20k a year isn't worth flying much less selling slurpee's at 7-11.

Just some random thoughts... <meanwhile... back on the ranch.>

:beer:
 
seaav8tor said:
The business model where the lowest bidding regional "wins" is a safety bust. The winning bidder will be the one to find the cheapest planes, the cheapest maintenance, the cheapest employees, etc, etc. Trying to build "safe" with "cheap" doesn't happen. As time marched forward from the point where this all started there has been a constant decay as cleaver managers and business leaders figured out how to out cheap their competitors. In the end we were left with a pilot who held the yoke full aft ignoring the stick shaker, stick pusher, airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, put the airplane into a spin at the FAF, killing all aboard.
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One of my favorite signs from a pizza shop we used to frequent in college said "This shop does three kinds of jobs: Good, Fast, and Cheap. You can have any two." I've found that that rings true in just about every facet of life. For the mainline/ regional contractual situation, whereby the lowest bidder is awarded the flying, it's a direct conflict of interest. They arrived at the cheapest bid because they cut the most corners. This certainly does not result in safety.

I think we can all agree that the entire industry needs an overhaul, but who knows how or when that could even begin to occur.
 
Avalon781ML said:
The traveling public deserves better, the average line pilot deserves better, and yet I doubt any change will occur in the next few years. 1500TT is not much to ask of an applicant much like one level of safety isn't much to ask of an industry. Pilots will be there for the jobs if the career is worth the effort... but right now 20k a year isn't worth flying much less selling slurpee's at 7-11.

Just some random thoughts... <meanwhile... back on the ranch.>

:beer:
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I agree that it isn't much to ask, and I think given the current status of the industry, a lot of pilots have well over 1500 hrs. But this alone won't fix the problem, considering that both of the Colgan pilots had over 1500TT and turbine experience. A CFI that has 1500TT going into that job still has a bit of a learning curve. I think limiting duty hours/raising pay would be more effective than making the pilots have 1500TT (from a safety standpoint).

While I know everyone wants to make a lot of money out of the gate, at this time I know it won't happen. It might just be better to at least ask for a living wage, so a pilot can afford a QOL that gets them some rest. Pilots having to commute accross the US because they can't afford an apartment/hotel in their base city is bad. Maybe they need to restrict commuting a little in the new rules too, since some people will push their commute right up to near their start time. In doing this they aren't getting any quality sleep, and in this case it is the pilot's fault.

IMO, I am not sure we will see much of a real change. It is unfortunate, because some kind of overhaul is long overdue.
 
Mike H said:
There's an old saying that's too often ignored these days: "Hard cases make bad law".
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So what makes good law?

Law is often so much trial and error.

We can do better than what we have now, IMHO. No reason not to try. There's 50 dead people that might've appreciated it.

Would it not seem that their families agree?
 
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