Dear friends, welcome to our FAA headquarters and thank you for making this event possible. There is no question that you—the Families of Continental Flight 3407–have brought about a seismic shift in the aviation safety landscape.

Your work is an important reminder that progress often comes because citizens take a stand, not only to honor their loved ones, but also to help other Americans avoid such profound loss and grief.

The work you began in 2009 with Congress and the FAA has changed the way pilots are hired, trained, monitored and cared for, as well as for how airlines proactively identify, and address, hazards and risks. That is an astounding amount of action in any day and age, much less this one.

This plaque will be a constant reminder to everyone who passes by, that aviation safety is about much more than the physics of the machine that lifts us, or the technology that guides us—It is the promise we make to the mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers of those who travel by air, that we have done everything humanly possible to keep them safe. 

That is our commitment, one that we will reaffirm each and every day

Thank you for coming and thank you for all you do.