For more than a decade, families whose lives were changed by the crash of Flight 3407 have been fighting to make the skies safer.

Now, the pilot record database⁠— the final piece of the Airline Safety Act passed back in 2010⁠— has moved forward in Washington, D.C. following two years of beta testing. 

Laura Voigt, sister of a Flight 3407 victim, says she has mixed emotions after hearing the Federal Aviation Administration sent a final proposal for the pilot record database to the Trump administration.

The database would work to keep unfit pilots out of the air, require that airlines have access to pilots training and experience, and make sure pilots get enough rest.

Marvin Renslow, the pilot of Continental Connection Flight 3407 on Colgan Air, failed several of his tests but was still hired because the airline didn’t have access to that information.

Voigt says the pilot record database seems like common sense to have, but never thought it would take 10 years to get this far.

“You work any other job in almost any industry and your college records are available," Voigt said. "You can call your references and any testing that you have to do is available to the person hiring you but— for some reason— in this industry that information has not been available to the airlines. So in the most common sense way, they are creating a database and it will be available to airlines as they hire their pilots, which is very important and would’ve been very relevant in the flight 3407 circumstance.”

Congressman Brian Higgins has been an advocate for airline safety in Washington and fought alongside 3407 families. He says reaching this final phase of getting the database approved is long overdue.

"Maybe a year, maybe eighteen months, but 10 years is just too long. And in that period of time, there might be people that do not have proper training that do not measure up in terms of qualifications for a pilot to be piloting commercial airlines with potentially hundreds of people," said Higgins, (D) 26th Congressional District.

He says getting this far is all thanks to the families of Flight 3407 that have fought so hard for the safety of others and to ensure no one has to go through what they did.

The database has to go through a budget finance process which could take up to another year. 

Voigt says once this long awaited process is complete it will be worth it. 

"The idea that this law could save someone else in the process is the most rewarding feeling," Voigt said.