February 12 marks the 7th anniversary of the tragic crash of Continental Flight 3407 in Clarence Center.
50-people were killed, that included a pregnant woman. She was the daughter of James and Mary Neill of Clarence. WBFO News spoke with James Neill about reflecting seven years later.
"It just seems like it happened yesterday. You relieve it all the time," said James Neill.
No formal memorial event has been planned this year to mark the anniversary date, however, Neill tells us he expect some families might appear at the Long Road site where the plane slammed into a home or at the centenary where remains are buried.
Neill and other family members appeared in Washington last week. The are waiting for a vote by lawmakers on the Reauthorization Bill to renew tougher standards. Family members continue fighting for safety regulations and better pilot training.
"If you don't teach a pilot, in the air, how to recover from a stall or how to fly through ice successfully, you don't have a professional pilot, and that's what happened to us," stated Neill.
"It just seems like it happened yesterday. You relieve it all the time," said James Neill.
Neill said the frigid, snowy weather reminds him of the exact conditions from seven years ago the evening the crash occurred, February 12, 2009.
"Yesterday it was so brutally cold, and now today, the actually day, it's much like the day the crash occurred," explained Neill.
