Buffalo crash pilots discussed sickness, low pay
7/27/2009WASHINGTON A new cockpit voice recorder transcript shows the co-pilot in February's airline crash in upstate New York said she felt ill and would have liked to have skipped the flight.
First Officer Rebecca Shaw also complained about poor treatment by Colgan Air Inc. of Manassas, Va., which operated the flight for Continental Airlines, and about how little she was paid. Shaw said she earned only $15,800 the previous year and the airline was refusing to give her $200 in back pay she felt she was owed.
The transcript was released Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board. Flight 3407 crashed on Feb. 12 near Buffalo, killing 50 people. Testimony at a May hearing showed the flight's two pilots made a series of critical errors.