#2 Colgan 3047 Crash

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Colgan Air Flight 3407 was a regional flight for Continental.  On February 12, 2009, the plane departed Newark at 9:18pm EST.  The trip was mostly uneventful until the plane was instructed to intercept the approach course into Buffalo on a wintery night.  The plane was a Bombardier Q400, and repeated attempts by Air Traffic Control went unanswered.  The plane had entered a Stall and crashed into a house in Clearance Center, New York, killing the 49 people on board and one person in the house.

The NTSB report determined several key causes among which was pilot fatigue and the low number of hours of pilot experience before sitting on the flight deck of a passenger liner… the 1500 hour.

Dan Millican and Christy Wong examine this fateful flight, the pilots, the plane and the aftermath of Colgan 3047.

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Dan Millican

Owner of a film/tv/video production company Serendipitous Films located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas. When the drone craze hit the industry, Dan took advantage of the FAA’s 333 Exemption rule on commercial aerial work by getting his private pilot certificate and was hooked on aviation ever since. He has climbed the rating ladder and now holds his Certified Flight Instructor ticket. He purchased a Cessna 210 and uses it to carry crew and equipment to shoots all over the United States. In 2018, he created the YouTube channel “TakingOff” and like its name, it certainly has! The channel has experienced phenomenal growth and provides content that leaves the viewer a better person and pilot for watching.

 

Christy Wong

Christy Wong realized her lifelong dream of becoming an airline pilot at the age of 37. She is also a CFI/CFII/MEI and often does discovery flights to expose others to aviation. In addition to flying for the airlines and co-hosting “Taking Off”, Christy is also the president of her flying club. She also loves spending time with her family and friends and (surprise) going flying in her Piper Chorkee Wong Warrior when she can.