The US NTSB concluded its public hearing into the February crash of Colgan Air 3407 just outside Buffalo. There are a lot of answers but, as with any accident like this, each answer brings up new questions.
There are many lessons to be taken away from this tragedy and Max Trescott has a great article on it. His conclusions, as drawn from the NTSB investigation and his own experience:
- Experience on type counts
- Fatigue kills
- Distraction kills
- Airspeed is life
Here’s a simulation from the NTSB of the last few minutes of the flight, based on data recovered from the flight recorder.
For other points of view, including some from pilots who have flown a Q400 series aircraft check out the following links:
- The Wrong Stuff
- Thirty Seconds of Silence
- Thirty Seconds of Confusion
- Pilots faulted in first day of Colgan Air crash hearings
- NTSB probes Colgan Air on personnel policies on day two – with simulation video
- NTSB closes Buffalo crash hearings with focus on safety devices
- NTSB Looks For Lessons In Colgan Dash-8 Crash
- The last 7 minutes of Colgan 3407
- Hearing information straight from the NTSB
