NY crash tapes show pilots sick, fatigued

WASHINGTON - The co-pilot in February's airline crash in upstate New York complained to the flight's captain that she felt ill and would have skipped the flight but didn't want to pay for a hotel room, according to a new cockpit voice recorder transcript released yesterday.

The extended transcript, released by the National Transportation Safety Board, shows that pilot Marvin Renslow commiserated with First Officer Rebecca Shaw, but didn't suggest that she pull out of the flight.

Federal Aviation Administration regulations say that pilots should not fly if they're feeling sick. Captains are responsible for overseeing their crew.

The two conversed while Continental Connection Flight 3407 sat on the ground waiting for clearance to take off from Newark Liberty International Airport.

Shaw told Renslow that if she had felt as sick the day before when she was at home near Seattle, she wouldn't have commuted to Newark to make the flight.

Shaw also complained about poor treatment by Colgan Air Inc. of Manassas, Va., which operated the flight for Continental Airlines.

Flight 3407 crashed on Feb. 12 as the twin-engine turboprop began preparations for landing in Buffalo, killing all 49 people aboard and a man in a house below. Testimony at an NTSB hearing in May showed that Renslow and Shaw made a series of critical errors leading up to the crash.

It's not clear where either pilot slept the night before the crash or how long they slept, but it appeared from testimony that they may have tried to nap in a crew lounge at the airport rather than pay for a hotel room. A fatigue expert testified that the pilots' judgment was likely impaired by fatigue. *