but to stay competitive, bethune sold off continental express and began outsourcing more and more flying independent airlines. what was the whole thought process in putting this type of flying on to another company? >> it's a different kind of business. it's... regional jet flying in smaller airplanes aren't big airplanes and different employees, different labor standards, different wage rates, right? >> o'brien: still, airplanes, transportation, moving passengers safely. how is the distance traveled and the size of the airplane make it a different business in your perspective? >> they're all flying airplanes, but they're not flying the kind of airplanes you are with the same kind of standards that you're flying. and so you let that operate as it's an independent business because other people are in that business. but you can't afford to have a lot of excess cost and still win a contract. so it makes the management be cost effective. >> the major airlines created the regional industry as a way of lowering costs. they don't want to pay employees, and i don't care whether it's pilots, flig

it was actually continental express flight 3407 that crashed near buffalo right about a year ago, killing 50 people. well, we're starting to get answers as to what exactly happened, and the ntsb placing the blame squarely on the pilot, again, you'll remember 49 people were on board that plane that were killed. one person on the ground was killed. but we have been hearing -- been hearing the past couple days about exactly what happened this. meetings by ntsb, and they're saying that the pilot and copilot could have actually prevented this crash from happening. here's one of the quotes they're using. they say, "the crew did not perform in a way consistent with the training they received." they're saying that the pilot, marvin rennes lo was casual and relaxed and conversing with the first officer, rebecca shaw, who was startled and confused when the plane entered a stall. so, they did not hold back in a lot of ways and putting a lot of blame on those pilots. they opened that meeting, actually, saying we are not here to really impugn the character of these particular pie lots, not saying they