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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2010

SB-10-05

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NTSB CHAIRMAN TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS ON THE CRASH OF

COLGAN AIR FLIGHT 3407

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Washington, DC - National Transportation Safety Board

Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman testified in the U.S. Senate

today about the status of aviation safety a year after the

crash of Continental Flight 3407 near Buffalo, New York on

February 12, 2009.   The flight was operated by Colgan Air.

The crash resulted in 50 fatalities, including all of the

passengers, the flight crew, and one person on the ground.

The NTSB issued its final report on the investigation of the

accident following a public board meeting on February 2. 

Chairman Hersman provided a summary of the investigation

that led to the Board's final report and a determination

that the probable cause of the accident was the captain's

inappropriate response to an aerodynamic stall from which

the airplane did not recover.

At the hearing before the Subcommittee on Aviation of the

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation,

Hersman noted that the Safety Board's final report makes 25

new recommendations to the FAA and reiterates 3 previously

issued recommendations.  The recommendations cover a wide

range of safety issues that were factors in this accident,

including pilot training and fatigue. Just last week, the

NTSB updated its 2010 Most Wanted List of Transportation

Safety Issues to better emphasize these 2 safety concerns,

Hersman noted.

"If we are serious about aviation safety, we must establish

a system that minimizes pilot fatigue and ensures that

flight crews report to work rested and fit for duty," said

Chairman Hersman. "We must also have a system in which we

are steadfastly confident that all of our commercial pilots

are proficient and well-trained."

The full text of Chairman Hersman's testimony is available

on the Board's web site at: http://www.ntsb.gov/Speeches/hersman/daph100225.html  

Also the Board's final accident investigation report is

available at:

http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2010/AAR1001.pdf.   The 2010

Most Wanted List is available at:

http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/mostwanted/aviation_issues.htm