Air tragedy

Serious questions have been raised about pilot training, cockpit procedures and safety issues in an investigation of the fatal Colgan Air crash near Buffalo last February that killed 50 people.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators pointed to pilot error as the main cause of the accident, referring to the cockpit as a "picture of complacency."

Investigators said the pilot, Capt. Marvin Renslow, 47, should have been able to recover the plane from an aerodynamic stall that occurred as the regional carrier was approaching Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. The plane ultimately dove into a house.

But Capt. Renslow reacted improperly to the stall and to safety warnings, investigators said. When a device called a stick shaker activated to warn that the plane was about to stall, he should have pushed forward on the control column to gather speed. Instead, he pulled back on the stick shaker, making the situation worse.

The first officer, Rebecca Shaw, 24, should have pushed the plane's nose down after the captain reacted improperly, but she was an inexperienced pilot and may not have known what to do.

Many mistakes were noted. The pilots entered contradictory data into the cockpit computer systems before takeoff in Newark, N.J., there was improper chatter, and fatigue may have been a contributing factor. The first officer sent a text message about five minutes before takeoff.

The airline's pilot training program was also criticized. NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman questioned whether regional airlines are held to the same safety standards as major airlines. She said the Federal Aviation Administration was slow to address safety issues raised by the investigation.

"We have made recommendations time after time after time," she said. "They haven't been heeded by the FAA."

It has also been pointed out that the captain failed five performance tests during his career.

It is essential to learn from what went wrong and to use those findings to improve aviation safety. The FAA needs to act on the safety board's recommendations.