Robert Lakind, a former airline pilot, is an attorney with the law firm of Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein & Blader P.C. Mr. Lakind has extensively reviewed both news reports and communications issued by the National Transportation Safety Board regarding the crash of Colgan Air Inc. Flight 3407, which was operated as a Continental Airlines Connection flight. The type of aircraft that was involved in that crash was a Dash 8-Q400, which is very similar to the ATR-72, one of the types of aircraft Mr. Lakind piloted while working as an airline pilot.

Flight 3407 crashed while on approach, in icing conditions, to Runway 23 at Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. Thus far it appears that the crash of Flight 3407 was caused primarily by pilot error, specifically, the failure to react correctly to the onset of the aircraft’s stick shaker. The stick shaker is a device that activates when an aircraft is about to stall. In layman’s terms, a stall means that the aircraft is no longer capable of flying and occurs when an aircraft’s airspeed becomes too low. When the stick shaker is activated, pilots are trained to increase the aircraft’s airspeed, which will prevent the onset of a stall.

Initial reports indicate that, while on final approach to Runway 23, Flight 3407’s stick shaker activated. At the onset of the stick shaker, rather than increasing the aircraft’s airspeed, the Captain of Flight 3407 pitched the aircraft’s nose upward, which had the effect of decreasing the airspeed, the incorrect response to the activation of the stick shaker. Seconds after the Captain pitched the aircraft’s nose upward, the aircraft stalled, entered a roll and ultimately crashed. Apparently, the Captain had failed three flight tests prior to obtaining employment with the airline, and then failed two additional flight tests while working for the airline. One of those failures occurred while the Captain was training to become a Captain on the Saab 340 (another aircraft that the Captain also flew for the airline). A Check Airman reported to the National Transportation Board that the Captain failed that flight test because he allowed the aircraft to become too slow during a single engine maneuver.

During his career as an airline pilot Mr. Lakind flew the ATR-72 aircraft, a plane very similar to the aircraft that crashed in Buffalo. Both are high wing turboprop aircraft. Further, on October 31, 1994 an ATR-72 aircraft crashed in Roseland, Indiana killing all 68 persons on board. The National Transportation Board cited icing conditions as one of the causes that lead to that crash.

Mr. Lakind is admitted in the States of New York and Pennsylvania and prior to joining Szaferman Lakind, Blumstein & Blader, P.C. he worked for two large international law firms in both New York and Philadelphia.

Federal law prohibits attorneys from soliciting victims’ families for the first 45-days after an accident. That deadline expired on March 29th, and marketing attorneys may now send mass-mailings to the families. Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein & Blader P.C. does not engage in such activity and supports the efforts of the National Transportation Safety Board to protect families from harassing attorneys. While attorneys will be permitted to mail advertisements to the families, they are not allowed under attorney ethical rules to solicit in person or have agents (runners) solicit for them. No attorney or someone working for an attorney should show up uninvited on your doorstep.

Families should not feel pressure to take immediate legal action. New York’s (and New Jersey’s) wrongful death statute of limitations is two years. In the event that the investigation of the accident points to deficiencies in government air traffic control or weather services, a Notice of Claim must be filed against the government within two years.