CVR Transcripts Released in Buffalo Q400 Crash

Transcripts of the cockpit voice recorders were released at hearings investigating last winter’s crash of a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 near Buffalo, New York. All 49 passengers and crew on the airplane died and one man was killed on the ground when the turboprop crashed into his house. According to the transcripts, the pilots expressed concern over the amount of ice the Dash 8 was accumulating. Commenting on her prior experience, First Officer Rebecca Shaw told Captain Marvin Renslow, “I really wouldn’t mind going through a winter in the Northeast before I have to upgrade to captain … I’ve never seen icing conditions. I’ve never deiced. I’ve never seen any. I’ve never experienced any of that. I don’t want to have to experience that and make those kinds of calls. You know I’d have freaked out. I’d have … seen this much ice and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we are going to crash.’ ” Less than seven minutes later, Renslow lost control of the airplane. He had approximately 625 hours’ flying experience in the region, but had just told Shaw, “That’s the most I’ve seen, most ice I’ve seen on the leading edges in a long time, in a while anyway I should say.”