Hometown News: Flight 3407 Hearings Conclude

The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded its three-day public hearings on Flight 3407. Yesterday, the panel heard from a NASA research scientist who studies pilot distractions. Doctor Robert Key Dismukes told the panel the warning stick shaker may have been too late for the pilots to react to an impending stall. Panel members questioned whether a warning system should be installed to alert the crew of falling airspeed. One panel member suggested that the pilot and co-pilot seemed surprised and discombobulated when the stick shaker activated. The NTSB says the co-pilot raised the plane's flaps which was the wrong thing to do, while the pilot tilted the nose upwards instead of down. The panel is trying to figure out why the crew took those actions, and suggested that better training may be needed for pilots to react correctly when under stress.