Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the storyPHOENIX -- When the ABC15 Investigators talked to two regional airline pilots in February 2008, they shared stories about 16-hour work days, minimal rest, and schedules leaving them and their colleagues nationwide exhausted in the cockpit.
"Anytime a pilot is tired, a passenger's safety can be jeopardized," the first pilot said.
"I was literally falling asleep as we were on approach," the second pilot said.
They didn't want their faces shown or their identities revealed for fear of losing their jobs.
"I feel horrible. I am in a position of safety," the first pilot said.
That was more than a year ago, well before Continental Express Flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air, went down near Buffalo killing 50.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the Buffalo crash raised several key issues, including possibly inadequate training for those behind the controls as well as pilot fatigue.
Monday in Washington, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA will get airlines representatives together for what they say is a "call to action".
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said, "It's clear to us in looking at the... crash in Buffalo that there are things we should be doing now."
Valley-based Mesa Airlines CEO Jonathan Ornstein said his company will have two representatives at the summit, and that he is confident in Mesa's pilots and their training.
Last year, the two pilots interviewed by ABC15 said federal regulations need to change and had an ominous warning.
"Unfortunately, it's going to take loss of life before the FAA steps in and does something," the second pilot said.
