Buffalo Plane Crash Co-Pilot Was Sick But Still Flew

Photographs of pilot Marvin Renslow and co-pilot Rebecca Lynn Shaw from the AP

The National Transportation Safety Board released pre-flight transcripts from Flight 3407, the fatal flight from Newark that crashed near its destination of Buffalo in February, and it turns out that co-pilot Rebecca Shaw was in fact sick. She told pilot Marvin Renslow, while sniffling, "I'm ready to be in the hotel room. This is one of those times that if I felt like this when I was at home there's no way I would have come all the way out here. But now that I'm out here," to which Renslow said, "You might as well [fly]." Forty-nine people on the plane were killed; one person on the ground was killed.

According to the FAA, sick pilots aren't supposed to fly and that the captain is supposed to stop them. Shaw also complained about her first year salary of $15,800; she had commuted from Seattle to her base in Newark. The Buffalo News reports, "Shaw then implied that she was reluctant to call in sick because she would have had to pay for a hotel room in Newark. And she said of Colgan Air, which operated the Continental flight, "I feel like Colgan walks all over me. This company treats me like crap so much,” offering that she was trying to get $200 in back pay.

Shaw had taken a red-eye flight from Seattle to Newark, but had text messaged her husband, "I feel soooo good, I took a nice six-hour nap on the comfy recliner!" apparently from the Colgan Air lounge at Newark. Shaw's and Renslow's mental faculties are in question, because it's believed pilot error to the crash. The Buffalo News notes, "Shaw, who was responsible for monitoring the plane’s speed, allowed the Dash 8 Q400 to slow to the point where the stall warning system activated. And Renslow reacted improperly to the stall, pulling back on the plane’s yoke when he should have pushed it forward to gain speed."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on July 28, 2009 10:39 AM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

$15,800? What was her big hope? That she'd someday make $30,000 and vacation in the south of France? Why would anyone sign on to this shitty gig?

jaycjay

Her big hope likely was that she would end up a captain for a major airline, and after ten years on the job be making $150,000 to $200,000 or more per year. Even as a captain at ComAir with three years experience the average is $62,000.

Snoopy

Free flight from Seattle to NYC?

buttface

This is all because the pilot pulled up when stalling - which is the real mystery here. Stalling is one of the very first things you learn about when becoming a pilot. The recovery method is black and white...just doesn't make any sense.

Snoopy

It's just a bit higher than a person working at McDonalds or WalMart would make. What gives?

Steven

Way to go. Do you imagine if a doctor was making $15,000 a year?

Snoopy

I can't believe they make that little money. I wouldn't drive a cab for that amount.

nicemarmot

The fact that that poor woman was making $15k and commuting cross country to be a pilot pretty much says it all. Nobody who is responsible for the lives of dozens of people should be making less than a living wage. It means they'll make bad decisions to try to make enough money to survive and when you're a pilot your decisions are everything.