By WBFO News
Washington, DC – The US Senate Monday unanimously approved the FAA Reauthorization Bill that includes many of the safety measures the Flight 3407 families group has fought nearly a year to achieve.
The Senate bill requires co-pilots to train for at least 800 hours before flying passengers. The families were hoping for a 1,500 hour requirement, but the new standard is still significantly higher than the previous level which required only 250 hours of training.
Karen Eckert -- who lost her sister Beverly in the crash -- is pleased with their efforts in pushing for safety measures.
"Because of the crash, we had to do something. As a group, we're proud that we were the engine for this law," Eckert said. "We're just thrilled."
A similar bill, debated earlier, overwhelmingly passed in the House. Those two bills must now be combined into a single piece of legislation which would require approval of both houses.
Continental connection Flight 3407, crashed in Clarence last year killing 50 people.