BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The families of the victims of Colgan Flight 3407 celebrated the federal publishing of the pilots record database.
The database took years to be implemented after it was passed as part of a series of safety measures in the Federal Aviation Administrations reauthorization bill of 2010. Air carriers and other operators of planes must enter relevant data on pilots employed by their respective companies into the federal system which shows their training history and air records, including a pilots strengths and weaknesses.
"Despite the valley of suffering and grief that they were in, they didn't blame the pilots," Congressman Brian Higgins said about the families who have advocated for over a decade for change. "They thought of the pilots as victims, too. What they blamed was the system that allowed these pilots, who were really not qualified to fly a plane, into the cockpit. That was a great sense of empathy and humanity."
Colgan Flight 3407 was a passenger plane from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo on February 12, 2009. The plane stalled over Clarence Center and crashed into the home of Karen and Doug Wielinski on Long Road. All 49 people aboard the flight died plus Doug Wielinski.
"Now, all the legal deadlines for the airlines to add their records and to use the pilot records database are set," Karen Eckert, whose sister Beverly died in the crash, said. "We did this for the loved ones we lost right here at this place 12 years ago. The results of everything we did speak for itself in terms of the law that was passed: No fatal crashes in the last 12 years on a US airline. It's a testament to perseverance and follow-through of the families of Flight 3407."
While the Federal Register went live on Thursday, the rules will take effect over the coming months. Compliance for some parts of the database will take effect as late as 2024.
"We'd really feel that the airlines are going to step up and (be compliant) much sooner than that," Eckert said. "They want to use this. They don't want a pilot who failed three check-rides like our pilot did, unknowingly. We believe they will."
To protect pilots privacy, no reviewing entity is allowed to see records in the database about a pilot until they receive that pilot's written consent. Once entities receive consent, they can view that person's pilot and medical certificate information, records of any failed attempt to pass a practical test, and drug and alcohol testing history.
