NYT: FAA Inspector Issued Warning a Year Before Clarence Crash WNED News BUFFALO (2009-06-03)


More than a year before the February crash of Flight 3407 in Clarence, an inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration raised concerns about test flights involving Colgan Air.

The New York Times reports the inspector complained to his superiors that during flights in the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400, Colgan crews were flying fatigued and were not fully focused. He told the Times that pilots "got confused" during 2008 test flights in the plane. It was the same plane that crashed on approach to Buffalo-Niagara International Airport the night of February 12, 2009.

Issues of fatigue and pilot training were discussed during recent hearings on the Clarence crash.

After reporting his concerns, the inspector says he was suspended from his job and given desk work.

Colgan Air tells the paper that the inspector's claims against the airline are "baseless."

The crash of Flight 3407 killed all 49 people on the plane and one person on the ground. The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
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