Monday, February 16, 2009
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board has called for authorities to ground all turboprop planes like the one that crashed last week in icy conditions, at least until the accident investigation is complete.
But federal aviation officials insisted Sunday that the planes are just as safe in winter weather as any other aircraft. The 74-seat Q400 Bombardier aircraft “has an excellent record in icing conditions,” said Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. “If we thought that these planes were unsafe, we wouldn’t let them operate.”
Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a home late Thursday, killing all 49 people aboard the plane and one man on the ground. It went down in light snow and mist just six miles from the Buffalo airport.