Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Families of Flight 3407 are expressing their concerns over the nomination of former Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford's as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Susan Bourque, the sister of Beverly Eckert who was one of 50 people killed when Flight 3407 crashed into a home in Clarence Center in 2009, says Bedford attempted to decrease the minimum required flight hours for commercial pilots from 1,500 to 750.
"When he was CEO of Republic Airlines, he tried to get an exemption from that requirement, saying that their internal training program was as rigorous as the training program for military pilots, so 750 hours of flight experience should be enough. The FAA did not approve his request, but clearly he was trying to find a way to do something about that," stated Bourque.
Bedford will be in front of a U.S. Senate Committee on Wednesday for a hearing. Bourque says several family members will be there to to hear how he responds to the committee's questions.
"That's mainly what our purpose is right now to indicate what it is that concerns us and that hope that in his current position, should he receive the approval of the Senate, that he is not going to take this path. We think there are more important things for the FAA to be concerned with right now. A lot that go along with all of these recent incidents that have been in the news about mechanical issues, air traffic control issues and so on. Those should take precedent and leave the safety rules that have worked so well alone."