Brian Higgins: “As the Congressman has said, prior to the crash in February 2009, we were of the belief that if the plane said…”

“As the Congressman has said, prior to the crash in February 2009, we were of the belief that if the plane said Continental, it was operated by the national carrier. It wasn't true. It was operated by a regional carrier, and there were two levels of safety, the larger carrier's 1,500 hours for pilots, and the regional carrier's, in the case of this flight, 750 hours. The National Transportation Safety Board did a thorough investigation of the crash site and the circumstances surrounding it and made an unequivocal conclusion that it was pilot error. The plane went into an aerodynamic stall. The pilot did exactly the opposite of what they should have done. The plane pitched. It descended. As Mr. Langworthy has said, 49 people died, including 1 individual on the ground. Since that change was made, commercial aviation fatalities decreased by nearly 100 percent. We ask that the 1,500-hour pilot training rule be sustained in the FAA reauthorization. {time} 1415”