The Victims and Families
Flight 3407 families helped by 'Miracle' co-pilot
WASHINGTON — Members of the group Families of Continental Flight 3407 returned to
Capitol Hill on Thursday to lobby for airline safety legislation — and this time, they
had a hero at their side. (Updated: 10/29/09 11:43 PM )
Run/walk to help fund Flight 3407 memorial
A 5K run to raise money for a Flight 3407 memorial will be held Saturday morning in Clarence Center. (Updated: 06/10/09 10:22 AM )
Renslow family keeps focused, hopes hearings lead to changes
TAMPA, Fla.—On the day after the hearings into the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 ended in Washington, D. C., the widow of Capt. Marvin D. Renslow, the pilot of the doomed turboprop aircraft, paid a visit to her husband’s grave. (Updated: 11/04/09 11:02 PM )
“Not a wallflower,” first officer saw pay cut, cross-country commute as entry routes to desirable but demanding airline career
Rebecca Lynne Shaw loved flying so much she was willing to work for less than $24,000 a year, live with her parents and commute cross-country for her job as a first officer with Colgan Air. The competence and professionalism of the co-pilot of Continental Connection Flight 3407 came under fire last week during the National Transportation Safety Board’s hearings. (Updated: 05/18/09 9:30 AM )
From small Iowa town, pilot persisted in decades-long quest, pursuing longtime dream of landing top spot in cockpit
From her modest home in southwest Iowa, Shirley Renslow tried all last week to avoid the news coverage that suggested her son might have done something very wrong in piloting Continental Connection Flight 3407 that fateful February night. But, given the media barrage, she couldn’t avoid them all. (Updated: 05/18/09 9:32 AM )
Donn Esmonde: Flight 3407 survivor is a light in the darkness
We needed this. We needed her. We needed a reminder, amid all of the emerging grim details of Flight 3407, that all was not lost. We needed to be reminded—among the revelations of the larger circumstances that paved the way to tragedy—that there was a sliver of light in the darkness of Feb. 12. (Updated: 05/14/09 8:44 AM )
Congress takes notice as victims’ relatives visit
WASHINGTON — Nikki Tolsma turns 17 today. Normally, she would likely be having cake with friends, maybe after running with her school track team. Instead, the Lancaster teenager is in Washington, where she spent part of Wednesday sitting in an ornately decorated room as a Senate subcommittee was discussing the technological future of aviation. (Updated: 05/15/09 9:27 AM )
Families at hearing shaken by flight details
WASHINGTON — As Dana Hartman watched a simulation of Continental Connection Flight 3407, showing the plane rolling from side to side before crashing to the ground, she put herself in her father’s place. (Updated: 05/19/09 8:55 AM )
Loved ones of victims on a quest for answers
WASHINGTON — Revelations that the captain of Flight 3407 failed three pilot proficiency tests and was involved in extraneous conversation on approach to landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport are shocking, but just the start of what family members of the crash victims say they expect to begin learning today. (Updated: 05/12/09 12:33 PM )
Chuck Mangione concert, party to honor lives lost on Flight 3407
The Chuck Mangione concert Friday at Kleinhans is sure to be a bittersweet event for both the band and audience. Originally scheduled for Feb. 13, the concert was postponed after two members of Mangione’s band, guitarist Coleman T. Mellett and sax and flute player Gerry Niewood, died when Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed on Long Street in Clarence Center. (Updated: 05/01/09 10:36 AM )
Song is Flight 3407 fund theme
Two widows of Continental Connection Flight 3407 victims joined government officials, Wegmans Markets and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on Thursday to announce May as “Love Knows No Boundaries” month throughout Western New York. (Updated: 05/01/09 10:35 AM )
2 more suits filed in plane crash in Clarence
Wrongful death lawsuits were filed Tuesday on behalf of a Westfield couple alleging that the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 in Clarence Center could have been avoided if a low-airspeed- warning system had been installed on the plane as recommended. (Updated: 04/25/09 11:06 AM )
Lawyers do subtle dance to woo crash clients
The 45-day grace period preventing attorneys from soliciting families of Flight 3407 victims has ended, but that doesn’t mean all the gloves are off for lawyers hustling to line up clients for expected multimillion-dollar lawsuits. (Updated: 04/25/09 11:06 AM )
Soccer dad’s friends plan tribute to his memory
PENDLETON — David Borner didn’t score any goals for the Starpoint High School soccer program, nor did he block any shots for the Spartans — but the devoted soccer dad still found ways to contribute to the success of the girls team. (Updated: 04/25/09 11:06 AM )
Soccer star perseveres without her dad, a Flight 3407 victim
PENDLETON—Nicole Borner should be having the time of her life. The 17-year-old Starpoint High School senior will be valedictorian of her class this spring. She’s the first Spartans girls soccer player to earn a Division I scholarship. Throw in the fact that the prom is on the horizon, and there’s a lot to celebrate. (Updated: 03/31/09 1:06 PM )