Colgan Air Flight 3407

On February 12, 2009, a routine commuter flight from Newark to Buffalo became a catastrophic lesson in pilot training and aviation safety. When stick shaker stall warnings activated during Colgan Air Flight 3407's approach, the captain's response turned a recoverable situation into an unrecoverable tragedy. Join Alice and Zach as they explore how fatigue, inadequate training, and a fundamental misunderstanding of stall recovery led to the deaths of 50 people—and sparked the most comprehensive aviation safety reforms in decades. This is the story of how one crash changed everything about how we train pilots and regulate regional airlines.

Sources:

• NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-10/01, "Loss of Control on Approach, Colgan Air Flight 3407"
• "Colgan Air Flight 3407: How a Single Crash Sparked Unprecedented Reform" - Aviation International News
• "Crew Errors Led to Fatal Colgan Air Crash" - Defense Daily
• Code7700.com Case Study: Colgan Air 3407
• Wikipedia article on Colgan Air Flight 3407
• Mayday: Air Disasters Season 10, Episode 4 "Dead Tired"

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Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.