Pilot Error May Have Contributed to Continental Flight 3407 Crash
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators look into the possibility of pilot error in the Colgan Air/Continental Flight 3407 accident.
Lorenda Ward, an NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator and Continental Flight 3407 accident investigator in charge, has "not concluded anything", but has suggested that the pilot may have over reacted when the plane's internal automatic safety system responded to a dangerous decrease in speed. As the plane's safety system sensed the decrease it tried to push the nose downward to avoid losing lift and regain speed. At this time, it is thought that the pilot, Capt. Marvin Renslow, may have over corrected, pulling back on the controls too severely, ultimately causing the plane to stall.
Also, against Colgan Air and the NTSB's recommendations, the plane was on autopilot while experiencing "significant ice." According to a Decmeber safety alert issued by the NTSB, pilots should operate aircraft manually when in icy conditions to better feel the changes in the handling quality of the plane.
Capt. Marvin Renslow had only 110 hours of experience flying the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and only 3,400 flight hours total. Federal investigators will look into his and his co-pilot's actions in the days leading up to the flight to ensure they had the proper rest and personal management necessary to conduct an aircraft.
In addition to ongoing leads, investigators are looking to other pilots who were flying in the area during the time of the accident for reports on weather conditions, how they handled the weather and any other information that may help them understand what went wrong aboard Continental Flight 3407.
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