FLIGHT 3407

It was 15 years ago that an inadequately trained crew crashed their plane into a home in Clarence, NY. Fifty people were killed including a man in the house. Relatives of the victims have been fighting ever since to require a "1,500 hour rule" for pilot training and have never given up despite all the airline lobbyists fighting against them. This ongoing struggle is still making news.

At the time of the crash, the entire city was in shock and mourning. I felt compelled to create this image the day after the event. Using pastels, I drew directly on the newspaper published that day. Ads for President's Day and Valentine's Day swirl around in the horror of the article about the crash.