Sep. 6, 2009 (United Press International) -- Colgan Air pilots say they often fly sick or tired, as Rebecca Shaw was on the Continental Connection flight that crashed in Clarence, N.Y., in February.
Shaw, the co-pilot on the plane that crashed on Flight 3407 from Newark, N.J., to Buffalo, N.Y., had a cold and flew on a red-eye the previous night. When her plane crashed into a house, 50 people died.
Pilots at both Colgan Air, which ran Continental Connection Flight 3407, and its parent Pinnacle Airlines (NASDAQ:PNCL) , told the Buffalo News they fly sick or fatigued because it is less painful than calling in sick.
Their contention was contradicted by Philip H. Trenary, Pinnacle president. He said the airline and its subsidiaries have a non-punitive safety program.
"If a pilot is fatigued for any reason, all they have to do is say so, and they're excused from duty," he told the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee during hearings on the crash.
Pilots say it has been easier to call in sick or fatigued since the Feb. 12 accident. They say the issue is critical because investigators have cited fatigue in the pilots as a possible contributing factor in the crash.
