WASHINGTON -- President Obama on Sunday signed the aviation safety bill that the Families of Continental Flight 3407 have been pushing for more than a year, and the families could not be happier about it.

"At last it is official!" said Susan Bourque of East Aurora, who lost her sister, 9/11 activist Beverly Eckert, in the crash. "Today is my granddaughter Adriana's birthday. What a present -- not just for her but everyone who flies."

The White House released a photo of Obama at his desk in the Oval Office, wearing a polo shirt and signing the aviation safety legislation.

"The president told the family members two months ago that he would take sensible steps to pursue important safety reforms, and he is pleased Congress has acted to ensure that we will use the best available evidence to make our aviation system as safe as possible for the traveling public," said White House spokeswoman Moira Mack.

Fifty people died in the crash of Flight 3407 in Clarence Center in February 2009, and federal investigators have blamed the crash on pilot error.

To try to prevent similar accidents in the future, the bill vastly increases the number of flight hours pilots will need before they can be hired to be copilots at a passenger airline. The current 250-hour minimum will be multiplied sixfold, to 1,500 hours.

That's important because, while pilots at major airlines typically have far more than 1,500 hours of experience, those hired by regional airlines -- such as Colgan Air, which operated Flight 3407 for Continental -- frequently don't.

In addition, the aviation safety bill forces the FAA to:

* Set up a pilot records database so that airlines will know if a pilot candidate failed multiple flight tests -- as Capt. Marvin Renslow, the pilot of Flight 3407, did before Colgan hired him.

* Draw up new rules on pilot qualifications, while imposing new rules guiding pilot training programs. In particular, the agency will have to come up with a way to require simulator-based stall-recovery training for pilots -- something the crew of Flight 3407 did not have in the plane they were flying.

* Write stronger regulations aimed at cracking down on pilot fatigue and establishing pilot mentoring and professional development programs.

The safety measures were attached to a bill temporarily extending funding for the FAA. The House passed the measure Thursday, and the Senate followed a day later.

Told of the president's action, Sue Pash, who lost her sister, Mary Pettys of West Seneca, in the crash, said: "I am beyond ecstatic. Even though we knew it would happen, it has made my day. It's brought tears to my eyes."

jzremski@buffnews.comnull