By Mark Scott
Washington, DC – The head of the commuter airline involved in the February crash that killed 50 people in Clarence admitted Thursday that the pilot should not have been flying the doomed plane.
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A Senate aviation subcommittee held a hearing to explore the safety issues surrounding the relationship between regional airlines and the legacy carriers. For instance, Colgan Air was the operator of Flight 3407, flying under the banner of Continental.
A post-crash investigation revealed that Flight 3407 pilot Marvin Renslow had failed three federal flight tests before he was hired by Colgan. Philip Trenary is the president of Pinnacle Airlines -- the parent company of Colgan. Trenary testified his airline did not have ready access to information about Renslow's background.
"Had we known what we know now, he would not have been in that seat," Trenary said.
The crash probe also determined Renslow reacted inappropriately to a stall warning as the plane was descending into Buffalo.
Still, Trenary said he wanted to reassure both senators and the flying public that regional carriers are safe.