Flight 3407's Last Audio: No Mayday Heard Before Buffalo Plane Crash
Audio of the Last Conversation With Co-Pilot Seemed Calm, Then Went Silent
By LAUREN COX
Feb. 13, 2009—
The last conversation between the co-pilot of Continental Express flight 3407 and air traffic control sounded perfectly calm moments before the plane crashed into a suburban home near Buffalo, N.Y., late Thursday night, killing 50.
The co-pilot checked in with air traffic control at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, "Buffalo Approach 3407, [12,000] or 1,000 North Romeo."
Air traffic control called to the flight, "Call me 3407 Buffalo," heard nothing and tried again, "Call me 3407 now approaching."
Then, silence. There was no Mayday call before flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air, nose-dived at 10:25 p.m, killing all 49 people on board and one on the ground.
Air traffic control quickly began checking with other flights and immediately requested a call to state police: "We need to find if anything was on the ground. This aircraft was five miles out and all of a sudden we have no response from that aircraft."
Flight 3407 AudioTranscript
AUDIO: Listen here to the conversation moments before flight 3407 crashed.
Co-pilot of flight 3407: Buffalo Approach 3407, [12,000] or 1,000 North Romeo.
Co-pilot of flight 3407: 2-9-8-0 (inaudible) 3407.
Air traffic control: Flight 3407 approach.
Air traffic control: Call me 347 Buffalo.
Air traffic control: Call me 3407 approach.
Air traffic control: Delta 1998 look out your right side about five miles for a Dash 8. It should be 2,300. Do you see anything there?
Another pilot: Ah, negative Delta 1998. We're just in the bottoms and there's nothing on the d-cast.
Air traffic control: Call me 3407 Buffalo.
Air traffic control: Call me 3407 Buffalo.
Air traffic control: Standby, there's some ground communication. We need to talk to somebody at least five northeast. … Possibly Clarence, that area right in there. Akron area. Either state police or sheriff's department. We have to find out if anything's on the ground. This aircraft was five miles out and all of a sudden we have no response from that aircraft
Air traffic control: All I can tell you is that aircraft over the mark and we're not talking to them now.