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

HeadlineMay 14, 2009

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.

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