The families of the victims of Flight 3407 strongly oppose the nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation.
In a statement, the families said Steven Bradbury's past policy decisions show he does not prioritize safety for public flying.
“Steven Bradbury has a documented history of putting corporate interests ahead of aviation safety,” said Scott Maurer, of Palmetto, Florida, who lost his 30-year-old daughter Lorin in the Flight 3407 crash. “His obstruction of the Boeing 737 MAX investigation and willingness to roll back critical safety regulations make him unfit for this role. On this sixth anniversary of the preventable Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accident, the Department of Transportation needs leaders who will prioritize the safety of every passenger, not those who put business interests first. We call on the U.S. Senate to reject Bradbury’s nomination and demand instead a Deputy Secretary of Transportation who will uphold the highest standards of aviation safety and transparency. The lives lost in preventable air disasters demand nothing less.”
This includes supporting rollbacks that would weaken pilot training requirements, something the 3407 Families strongly advocated for following the tragedy in 2009.
"Under Bradbury’s leadership at the DOT, the department failed to support a thorough and transparent investigation into the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, the second fatal crash of a Boeing 737 MAX. Bradbury was instrumental in withholding critical investigative materials from Congress, obstructing efforts to uncover the full extent of Boeing’s missteps. His reluctance to cooperate with congressional inquiries directly hindered accountability and delayed much-needed safety reforms. Furthermore, during his tenure, Bradbury supported regulatory rollbacks that would weaken pilot training requirements and safety oversight measures—policies that contradict the hard-won reforms championed by the Families of Flight 3407. These reforms, including stronger pilot training requirements enacted in the wake of the Flight 3407 tragedy, have been essential in maintaining aviation safety standards and preventing future crashes."
Continental Flight 3407 crashed in Clarence Center on Feb. 12, 2009, killing all 49 people on board the flight, along with one person on the ground. The NTSB ruled pilot error and a lack of training were the causes of the crash.