Free Reports
Practice Areas
HSInjury Blog 
Mass Transit (Airline, Train, Bus)
- Distracted, Fatigued School Bus Driver Charged With Causing Fatal Accident in Pennsylvania
- Illegally Operating Bus Crashes, Kills 6 and Injures 16 in Arizona (AZ)
- Pilot Killed when Cessna T303 Crusader Airplane Crashed in Louisa, Virginia
Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer 
Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer
Northeast NC Personal Injury Lawyer
Firm News
- Attorney Discusses JFK Air Traffic Contoller Incident
Posted on 3/9/2010 - Attorney Examines Legal Protections for High-Speed Rail Workers
Posted on 1/29/2010 - Attorney Examines an Airplane Accident in Suffolk, Virginia
Posted on 12/27/2009 - Injury Law Rules are Different in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. as it Relates to the Metro Train Collision Victims
Posted on 6/25/2009 - Sailboats Strike Overhead Power Lines in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA)
Posted on 6/11/2009
Library
Mass Transit (Airline, Train, Bus)
Mass Transit (Airline, Train, Bus)
Commuter and Regional Airline Safety Found Lacking
A week before the one-year anniversary of the Feb. 12, 2009, deadly commuter plane crash near Buffalo, New York (NY), the National Transportation Safety Board issued its conclusion that pilot error caused the Colgan Air accident that killed 50 people. The plane was flying as Continental Connection Flight 3407 and was seconds from touching down following the 45-minute trip from Newark International Airport.
The NTSB noted in a press release that its investigators determined the accident occurred specifically because "the captain of Colgan Air flight 3407 inappropriately responded to the activation of the stick shaker, which led to an aerodynamic stall from which the airplane did not recover." An automatic warning mechanism that engages when a plane is about to lose engine power in midair, a shaking stick signals a pilot to push forward on the main control. The pilot pulled back.
A fuller report posted to the NTSB Web site cites Flight 3407's pilot and co-pilot's lack of attention to the plane's instrument panel, lack of experience and physical impairments as factors that contributed to the crash. Translated, the investigation turned up evidence that the pilot and co-pilot had only a few hundreds hours of combined flight time, they had gotten little sleep in the days leading up to the accident, they were chatting rather than monitoring the plane's performance, and, it appears, the co-pilot was ill and had been using her cell phone to send text messages from the cockpit.
The NTSB reconstruction of the final minutes of Flight 3407 looks like this:
Fatigued, distracted and inexperienced pilots put airline passengers at great risk. Few people walk away from commercial plane crashes, and crashes due to pilot errors account for fully half of all fatal commercial airline accidents since 1950.
To the extent that the problems identified by the NTSB are unique to Colgan, those problems are of special concern to people in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach and the other cities of Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) because Colgan Air planes and crews operate out of Norfolk International Airport--ORF in Federal Avition Administration code. Colgan flies U.S. Airways Express, United Express and Continental Connection routes to and from Newark and La Guardia.
Recognizing that all commuter and regional airlines can have issues similar to those that led to the Flight 3407 tragedy, the FAA will soon issue new regulations aimed at ensuring pilots rest adequately between in-air shifts and improving pre- and post-licensing training. Colgan Air has already reexamined and updated its pilot training programs. Both announcements are good news. I hope the changes have the intended effect of keeping commuter and regional plane travel as safe as possible.
EJL
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and we have experience handling accidents involving mass transit such as airplanes, trains, and buses. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in Virginia if you've been seriously hurt by someone else's carelessness. We are ready to talk to you right now and provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042.
Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included among the "Best Lawyers in America" 2010 Edition, named Virginia "Super Lawyers" For Personal Injury Law (2009, less than 5% of lawyers are chosen), and selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum (2009). In addition, we were the first injury law firm in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical, respected law firms. Our firm has the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization, which means we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill.
Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a public information service along with editing a blog devoted exclusively to railroad accident and FELA law.
Post a comment
Post a Comment to "Commuter and Regional Airline Safety Found Lacking"
To reply to this message, enter your reply in the box labeled "Message", hit "Post Message."
Quick Contact
Main Office
1294 Diamond Springs Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Phone: (757) 460-7776
Fax: (757) 460.3428
Toll Free: (800) 752.0042
Get Directions
Hampton-Peninsula Area Office
Mill Point Center
101 Eaton Street
Hampton, Virginia 23669
Phone: (757) 788-8162
Fax: (757) 460-3428
Toll Free: (800) 752-0042
Get Directions
NE NC Office
101 E. Elizabeth Street
Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Phone: (757) 460-7776
Fax: (757) 460.3428
Toll Free: (800) 752.0042
Get Directions
We Welcome
Lawyer Referrals
click here
FAQs
Mass Transit (Airline, Train, Bus)
- If I'm hit and injured by a train, bus, airplane, or other common carrier vehicle what can I recover for my injuries?
- If I want to file a lawsuit for injuries I suffered from a bus, train, cruise ship or airplane accident, do I have to file a claim by a certain date or time?