Continential Connection Flight 3407 – The Investigation Continues

Did you know that when Continental Connection Flight 3407 made impact with the house in Clarence Center, New York on February 12, 2009 the Bombardier Dash 8 twin turboprop commuter plane was NOT on autopilot?

Reports say that it was on autopilot a mere 26 seconds prior to impact. That’s when the aircraft’s sensors detected a ‘looming stall’ A.K.A. aircraft speak for a pending catastrophic loss of lift over the plane’s wings.

You see, the ‘shaker-stick’ warning system kicks in, and violently vibrates the plane’s control yoke which is meant to alert the pilot that a correction is necessary ASAP. The autopilot is then disengaged automatically.

Gordon Gibb, a writer with LawyersandSettlements.com writes “There was much confusion throughout media circles yesterday as to the role, and the appropriateness of having the autopilot engaged as it was, up to the last few fateful seconds of Flight 3407. The lead investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Steve Chealander, cleared up a lot of the confusion during a news conference late in the day yesterday.”

Mr Gibb goes on to say, there were also some other matters that have been cleared up, if you will. Even though ice is thought to be a leading issue that brought down the plane, the conditions were not regarded as a so-called ‘bad-weather day.’ Even though the flight was delayed in Newark, New Jersey for up to two hours due to high winds, the decision to eventually launch the aircraft and proceed with the flight was not considered reckless, or mis-guided. Buffalo was reporting a combination of snow and mist, but there were no warnings of bad weather.

Thus–especially for flights in the northeast this time of year–things were considered pretty normal.

“Chealander confirmed that according to the plane’s flight data recorder, the deicing equipment was turned on 11 minutes into the flight, and the system remained turned on for the duration of the flight,” writes Gibb. “Given the weather conditions reported out of Buffalo, this appeared to be a sound and precautionary decision–and quite conservative.”

It has not been confirmed that the deicing equipment was even working let alone performing up to par. All that can be established at this juncture is that the system was engaged.

For more on the plane crash investigation visit the link on my profile page.