Further Thoughts on Continental Connect Flight 3407

It’s been nearly two months since Continental Connect Flight 3407 crashed in Clarence Center, New York, while on its approach to Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. Over at Ask the Pilot, Patrick Smith analyzes the most recent news, which he describes as “fascinating and disturbing.” While initially ice had been a prime suspect, Smith writes, “Investigators are focused instead on what appears to be an egregious case of pilot error.”

Smith walks the reader through the plane’s final moments: “For reasons unknown it was flying slightly slower than it should have been. This, together with the effects of at least mild icing, caused activation of the so-called stick shaker—a warning system that vibrates the pilots’ control columns in advance of an aerodynamic stall.”

He continues: “The basic steps to stall recovery are lowering the nose, leveling the wings, and increasing power. That’s Flying 101. Instead, the captain allegedly pulled back on the control column, raising the nose and throwing the airplane into a full aerodynamic stall from which, at an altitude of less than 2,000 feet, recovery was impossible.”

The NTSB has published this update. Fifty people died in the accident.

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