A Brief Report On Colgan Flight 3407 Essay - 962 Words

February 12th, 2009. A sad day it was in the United States, mostly in the eastern section of the great land. Colgan flight 3407 was set for departure from Newark, New Jersey set to land in Buffalo, New York. Traffic was significant enough to illuminate plenty of people travelling to Buffalo and back as a total of 110 recorded flights from different carriers were incoming and going between the two locations. In which seven Continental flights were bound for the Newark Liberty International Airport from Buffalo Niagra International Airport on the same day. Little did the passengers and crew members know that Flight 3407 was special. As the plane was approaching the New York area, the cockpit crew observed ice accumulation on the aircraft’s wings. This was an indication of the flight operating in a low temperature area and may have been the cause of the crash. The accumulation of ice on the wing adds weight to the air-bone body and thus, reduces the lift. Additionally, it also ch anges the shape of the wing, and this shape is what gives the lift. During the investigation held by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) was examined and found out that the crew did not recheck if the de-ice system installed in the aircraft was operational or not. This was critical due to the fact that the ice buildup was a mere 6 minutes before the plane crashed. The Flight Data Recorder was brought into account, it stated that the de-ice system was set in the