U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is demanding a hearing be held on why emails about a Colgan Air pilot were not revealed at the N-T-S-B hearings for the crash of Flight 3407.
Late last week internal Colgan emails surfaced that indicated pilot Marvin Resnlow was not qualified to fly the Bombardier Dash 8 Q-400 aircraft that crashed in Clarence two years ago killing 50-people.
Schumer is calling on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation to hold a hearing to examine the newly released emails and to explain why new flight safety rules are not in effect. Schumer said the families of Flight 3407 victims deserve answers.
“In the years and months following the crash, the NTSB has worked tirelessly to get to the bottom of the crash and its causes,” said Schumer. “However, the fact that relevant emails were not shared with investigators compels us to take a closer look at how we investigate crashes to make sure NTSB has the best information possible when making critical safety recommendations. I hope that my good friend Senator Cantwell will hold hearings so that we can truly uncover every last stone, and see if there are more lessons to be learned that could lead to safer skies.”
Western New York Congressional leaders Brian Higgins, Louise Slaughter, and Kathy Hochul also sent letters to both the N-T-S-B and Colgan Airlines demanding to know why emails sent by Colgan were not presented during the initial crash investigation.
“There is no question that these are emails should have been disclosed to the NTSB,” said Congressman Higgins. “We’d like to know why they weren’t, and how failure to do so may be impacting flight training and safety policy recommendations stemming from the Flight 3407 investigation.”
“These newly released emails raise a haunting question: what else haven’t we seen?” said Congresswoman Slaughter. “We must make sure that for future investigations, the NTSB has every tool they need to ensure all relevant information is shared.”
“I have no doubt that this investigation must be reopened,” said Congresswoman Hochul. “We’ve heard one thing in hearings, but these newly released emails, in my judgment, point to a cover-up. We need to get to the bottom of this. My constituents, the Flight 3407 families, and the flying public deserve no less.”