[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

Feb. 12, 2009, EWR - BUF, Crash, all lost, plus one on the ground.

I'm old enough to have remembered the debate about deregulation back in the early 1970s. One argument was that airlines would take shortcuts on safety. Has that prediction come to pass? There will almost certainly be one or more civil suits naming not only Colgan, but Continental as well, as defendants. Since Colgan was acting as Continental's agent (providing transportation of Continental's customers) I don't know how Continental can escape liability under the principle of agency law--"the act of the agent is the act of the principal."

If Colgan's allegations--that they complied with all FAA regulations--are true then they could escape any action against their Certificate of Operation or administrative fines. However, when the content of the flight voice recorder is considered I, don't know how far Colgan's plea of compliance with FAA regulations will get them in a civil action for wrongful death.

This tragedy appears as a textbook case of safety on the cheap. In this case Continental/Colgan did not go one millimeter beyond what was required by the FAA.

The Associated Press report can be found at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090512/...HNicmVsZWFzZXM