The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
May 14, 2009

Low Pay Led to Fatigue for Co-Pilot in Buffalo Plane Crash
----------------------------------------------------------



Federal transportation officials have revealed the Continental Airlines
plane that crashed near Buffalo earlier this year was co-piloted by a
sleep-deprived twenty-four-year-old who made just $16,000 a year.
Because of her low pay, Rebecca Lynne Shaw was forced to live with her
parents in Seattle and commute by plane across the country to her
Newark-based job. Fifty people were killed in the crash of Continental
Flight 3407 on February 12th. The victims included Alison Des Forges,
one of the world’s foremost experts on Rwanda, and Beverly Eckert, who
had become an advocate for 9-11 families after losing her husband in the
attacks on the Twin Towers.



.