Airline Blames Pilot for Buffalo Crash

(AP)  A regional airline is blaming the pilot for the commuter plane crash that killed 50 people near Buffalo earlier this year.

Colgan Air says in a report submitted this month to the National Transportation Safety Board that the pilot's inattention and failure to follow safety rules likely caused Flight 3407 to plummet from the sky on Feb. 12.

An NTSB investigation exposed a series of critical errors by the twin-engine turboprop's captain, Marvin Renslow, and co-pilot Rebecca Shaw. Its report on the crash is expected to be released early next year.

The Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 experienced an aerodynamic stall before plunging to the ground, killing all 49 aboard and one man in a house below.

The Buffalo News reported the airline's account on Monday.

[pubsrtoast]

I read these pilots were being "generously" being compensated to the tune of ~22k a year. As in everything else, you get what you pay for.

[us_1776]

And where does it address reports of an ILS system causing abrupt 'nose-up' incidents at this same airport in the days preceding this crash? A 'nose-up' event in an aircraft whose stall speed had been raised due to significant icing could itself have caused the stall.