U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer will be appearing Monday with retired airline Captain Sully Sullenberger in Clarence to show support for Flight 3407 families. They will gather at the memorial site where Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed six years ago Long Street. Jennifer West, who lost her husband Ernie, will travel to Washington, D.C on Feb. 4 to continue to fight for air safety rules. But West tells WBFO's Eileen Buckley says she won't attend the annual memorial service.
As the sixth year anniversary of the crash of Flight 3407 draws near, West has decided to no longer attend the memorial that will be held on the evening of February 12.
"It's very emotionally draining because you're at the crash, in the cold, and you hear the bells and you know that's where he took his last breath, and for me, it seemed like I took a few steps back. It was kind of set back," said West. "This one night would kind of set me back and it would take me longer to rally."
West has a daughter, 8-year-old Summer, who was only two years old when her father died in the crash.
"I've never taken Summer to the vigil," said West.
Last year, at the five-year anniversary of the crash, West told WBFO she had an "epiphany"
"All of a sudden I thought, you know what, he wouldn't want me to do this every year." said West.
Most moving of West's comments about grieving and recovering from her lost in the last six years, involved her daughter Summer's reaction to body parts returned to them.
"When we had a call that they found lung tissue and his foot. I went to the funeral home and I actually held his foot because -- it was the last thing I got to touch of him. And I kissed it goodbye," said West through her tears.
"When we had a call that they found lung tissue and his foot. I went to the funeral home and I actually held his foot because -- it was the last thing I got to touch of him. And I kissed it goodbye," said West through her tears.
West's daughter asked to see what was in the urn containing the cremation of her father's foot. Her daughter wanted to keep it in her bedroom saying "it's daddy, I like to have him close."