Direct flight to tragedy

The National Transportation Safety Board is reviewing the crash of a Continental Airlines flight operated by Colgan Air that killed all 49 passengers and crew and one person on the ground. Investigators surmise that the pilot had reduced speed too much in the landing approach. The only warning the pilot had of an imminent stall was violent shaking of his control column, to which he did not respond correctly.

Back in 2003, the safety board had recommended that the FAA study the merits of an audible early warning system for dangerously low speed, but the FAA did not even form a study team until 2006.

The hearings brought out other issues as well. The first officer, who was earning at an annual rate of $23,900, was flying out of Newark airport but lived with her parents near Seattle. She had pulled an all-nighter crossing the country before the fatal flight. Investigators theorized that she could not afford a home near Newark.

The pilot himself had flunked three proficiency exams. In the minutes before the crash, the two conversed distractedly, even though federal rules forbid such talk when a plane is below 10,000 feet. Four members of New York's congressional delegation have called for an investigation of commercial airline pilot training and certification. Passengers entrust their lives to airlines. They deserve pilots who are well-trained, rested, and attentive.