Jack J Hersch - The Dangers of Automation in Airliners: Accidents Waiting to Happen

Figure 18: Boeing 737 MAX Cockpit.

On the last night of her life, 24-year-old First Officer Rebecca Shaw was fighting a head cold. It had hit her that morning and was causing her to sniffle, but it wasnt bad enough to keep her from her job as a copilot for Colgan Air.

That February evening she was paired with 47-year-old Captain Marvin Renslow in the cockpit of Colgan Air flight 3407, flying a Bombardier Q400 turboprop from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to Buffalo, New York. Behind them in the narrow cabin were forty-five passengers and two flight attendants. Already running two hours late, it is likely that few of them were happy.

At 8:30 pm they were finally given permission to taxi to Runway 22-Right.. Outside their cramped cockpit the sky was clear and the air unseasonably warm. But while it was surprisingly nice in Newark, they expected light snow and freezing cold near Buffalo.

Forty-seven minutes later Colgan 3407 was close to the runway. Shaw switched her mike to the cabin public address system. Folks, she said, it looks like were number two for departure. Should be pretty quick here. Like to have the flight attendants please take their seats. Thank you.

A Tower radioed them. Colgan thirty four oh seven runway two-two right at Whiskey position and hold.

Renslow steered the plane onto the runway from taxiway Whiskey, lined it up with the , and then with his toes on the brakes went through the short Before Takeoff checklist with Shaw.

Just as they finished, the tower controller called them again. Colgan thirty four oh seven, runway two-two right at Whiskey. Winds three-zero-zero at one-niner. Cleared for takeoff.