The Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash took the lives of 49 people on board, as well as one person on the ground – now, the pilot’s chilling last words have been revealed
When Colgan Air Flight 3407 departed from Newark, New Jersey bound for Buffalo, New York, the 49 passengers on board were oblivious to the tragic fate that awaited them.
On February 12, 2009, the Colgan Air aircraft entered an aerodynamic stall and plummeted into a house, claiming the lives of all 49 people on board and one individual on the ground.
A cockpit voice recorder transcript released by the National Transportation Safety Board reveals Captain Marvin Renslow’s haunting final words, followed by a terrified scream from his co-pilot, First Officer Rebecca Shaw, recorded just seconds before the catastrophic crash.
In the moments preceding the fatal accident, as they neared Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Renslow and Shaw can be heard discussing the First Officer’s career and expressing their apprehension about flying in icy conditions.
Shortly after, the twin-engine turboprop Dash 8-Q400 Bombardier experienced an aerodynamic stall and crashed into a house, resulting in devastating destruction and loss of life, reports the Express.
In the cockpit transcript provided by the Safety Board, Renslow and Shaw are first heard discussing the amount of ice accumulating on their wings. This conversation occurred less than seven minutes prior to the crash, as their plane descended from 6,000 to 4,000 feet on its approach to Buffalo on a frosty night.
Shaw observed, “it’s lots of ice,” prompting Renslow to respond, “Oh yeah that’s the most I’ve seen, most ice I’ve seen on the leading edges in a long time, in a while anyway I should say.”
Renslow then mentioned he’d clocked up roughly 625 hours flying in the area prior to joining Colgan Air.
Shaw replied: “I really wouldn’t mind going through a winter in the Northeast before I have to upgrade to captain. I’ve never seen icing conditions. I’ve never de-iced. I’ve never seen any. I’ve never experienced any of that. I don’t want to have to experience that and make those kinds of calls. You know I would’ve freaked out. I would’ve like seen this much ice and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we were going to crash.'”.
Renslow then addressed Shaw’s concerns: “I would’ve been fine. I would have survived it. There wasn’t, we never had to make decisions that I wouldn’t have been able to make but.. now I’m more comfortable.”
As the crew deployed the landing gear and modified the flaps, a noise similar to the flap handle’s movement was captured at precisely 10:16.26 pm, with Shaw audibly saying, “Uhhh.”
Within a second, the cockpit registered sounds matching the stick shaker – an alert sent through the control stick indicating the aircraft was nearing an aerodynamic stall. The warning persisted for 6.7 seconds before a distinct horn signalled the autopilot’s disengagement, with the tone carrying on throughout the cockpit recording.
A mere three seconds after the stick shaker was activated, a click and the engines’ thrust increasing were audible.
At 10:16.34. 8 pm, Captain Renslow is heard exclaiming, “Jesus Christ.”
Subsequently, First Officer Shaw reports that she has raised the flaps and queries whether to retract the landing gear, to which Renslow urgently replies: “Gear up, oh (expletive).”
Amid escalating sounds and noise in the cockpit, Renslow declares: “We’re down.”
This is followed by a thump, and Shaw utters “we” before a harrowing scream cuts through. The transcript concludes at 10:16.52 pm.
Safety Board documents also disclosed insights from a training instructor who noted that initially, Renslow “was slow learning” the Dash 8 but later showed improvement.
The instructor mentioned Renslow’s challenges with the aircraft’s flight management system and his adjustment to switch positions, contrasting with his experience on another type of aircraft. Nevertheless, the instructor commended Renslow’s decision-making skills as very good.
Cogan Air was also compelled to admit that Renslow’s aircraft training hadn’t covered a simulation or demonstration of the plane’s stick-pusher mechanism.
A stick-pusher automatically kicks in when an aircraft approaches a stall, pushing the plane’s nose downward into a dive so it can gain sufficient speed for the pilot to steer it towards a safe recovery.
However, during Flight 3407’s descent to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Renslow defied correct protocol and yanked back on the control column when the stick-pusher activated, allegedly attempting to lift the nose and halt the dive.
The proper procedure involves pushing forward to increase speed.
The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that pilot error and inadequate training caused the devastating crash.
The pilots were found to have responded “inappropriately” to stall alerts, which created turbulent airflow across the wing and a swift loss of height.
As a result, the pilot lost command and the aircraft crashed into a house merely five miles from the runway’s edge.
The disaster prompted grieving families of the casualties to take determined action, leading to the introduction of fresh safety rules in the commercial aviation industry.
The 2010 law brought in tougher crew rest demands, duty time restrictions, and required airlines to disclose the operator of each flight. Moreover, a database was set up to guarantee that pilots rack up over 1,500 flying hours before they’re deemed qualified to fly an aircraft.