All 49 people on board the flight and one person on the ground were killed when the pilot, Captain Marvin Renslow, performed the incorrect procedure to prevent the aircraft plummeting into the ground after a stall warning alarm sounded.

Lorenda Ward from the NTSB said, "the aircraft pitched down and entered a steep descent from which the aircraft did not recover".

Information from the flight data recorders show that when the stall warning sounded the planes onboard computer pushed the nose of the aircraft down, but Captain Renslow pulled it back up - the exact wrong thing to do in the situation.

According to the NTSB Captain Renslow had previously failed five safety competency tests, while colleges claim he had never been trained to handle the icy conditions and subsequent stall Colgan Flight 3407 encountered while landing.

Additionally the NTSB said the pilot and co-pilot were making small-talk about their careers and fear of flying in icy conditions while performing their approach check-list. Additionally the co-pilot had flown a red-eye flight from Washington state prior to commencing the ill-fated flight to NY and is heard on the cockpit voice recorder complaining of a head cold and congestion. Okay by FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) regulations prohibits unnecessary talk between flight crew below 10,000ft.  That necessarily doesn't mean that you have to shut up below that altitude it just means you can't talk about the last time you got laid or your next hair dresser appointment or whatever...

So I was watching Fox News today and one of their contributors was talking about this story and started to blame Continental Airlines for not training their pilots correctly.  That statement is 100% WRONG! and it's not just Fox News that has done this.  Continetal Airlines had nothing to do with this crash.  Major airlines (Delta, American, COntinental...) all contract their regional routes to smaller airlines like Shuttle America, Colgan, ASA, Skywest and so forth.  These smaller companies have their airplanes and they train their own pilots and flight crew. The major airlines doesn't have ANYTHING to do with the type of training the pilots get.  Flight 3407 was a Continental Express flight operated by Colgan Air.  Continental Airlines shouldn't be blamed for the training that the pilots got.

I see it constantly with aviation reporting in the media they get things factually wrong and many pilots agree because in the aviation industry rules, regulations and just flying life has its own way and people who aren't in the loop don't understand.  It's being reported that Captain Marvin Renslow failed 5 training exams in his career.  That is misleading because most pilots have failed a training exam at one time or another in their career, I've failed a test before, that doesn't make me an incompetent pilot. Captain Chesley B Sullenberg "Sully" has failed test before...  

Most aviation events that are reported on television are exaggerated for the most part to get ratings.  When the US AIRWAYS "miracle on the Hudson" flight happened everyone was up in arms about bird strikes. Bird strikes are a common occurrence that can't be avoided.  Most if not all pilots have been in a situation where they've either hit a bird or almost hit a bird, it happens but the media made such a big deal about it like it never happens.  We (pilots) get trained for those incidents.  

So just a reminder if you EVER hear about an aviation related incident on the news, it's a big deal but don't take it for a HUGE deal like the news is making it, remember the people reporting the information don't necessarily know anything about aviation or airplanes so...