In recent months, three commercial airplanes have fallen out of the sky. In each case, there are lessons to be learned or questions to be answered.

The three crashes — the safe ditching of a USAirways jet in the Hudson River, a fatal crash of a commuter airliner near Buffalo and the tragic and unexplained crash of an Air France jet off the coast of Brazil — have raised issues that can, and should, help make air travel safer.

Hearings last week before the National Transportation Safety Board focused on the bird strike that caused both engines of an Airbus A320 to lose power not long after takeoff at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Pilot Chelsey Sullenberger reacted quickly to the sudden loss of power and safely brought the plane down on the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 people on board.

The NTSB is focusing on what can be done to reduce birds being caught in jet engines. Unlike most bird strikes, which occur on or close to a runway, United Flight 1549 hit Canada Geese about 3,000 high and several miles from the airport.

Beyond finding solutions to bird strikes, the NTSB hearing revealed that the depth of flying experience of Sullenberger and his co-pilot led them to remain calm and make the right decisions during the crisis.

The same cannot be said for the pilot and co-pilot of Continental Connection Flight 3407, which crashed on Feb. 12 near Buffalo, killing 50 people. Investigations into that crash reveal a relative lack of training for the pilot and co-pilot. It also was discovered that the pilot had failed several qualification tests before finally passing them and being certified.

Other revelations from the crash of the jet operated by regional carrier Colgan Air include long work hours, low pay, as well as the potential for fatigue to be a factor in crashes.

Regional carriers play a major role in aviation, flying half of all commercial flights and 20 percent of passengers. Flying for a regional carrier is seen as a stepping-stone to a job with a major carrier, where pay and working conditions are better. Still, it was shocking to learn that Colgan paid co-pilot Rebecca Shaw just $23,900, and she was living with her parents in Seattle and commuting to her Newark, NJ, base. On the night before the fatal crash, she had taken two overnight flights to get from Seattle to Newark. Safety experts warn that fatigued pilots are much more prone to make mistakes.

Indications are that pilot Marvin Renslow might not have been well- rested either. Renslow had commuted from his Florida home to Newark the day before the crash and was logged into a computer at 3 a.m. the night before the crash.

Beyond the fatigue issue, cockpit recorders reveal that Renslow was uncomfortable with dangerous icing conditions that can exist in winter. And Shaw was heard on the recording confessing to having had no experience flying in icing conditions.

There has been no final determination on the cause of the accident, but it appears that Renslow and Shaw were ill-prepared for an icing- related emergency and reacted the wrong way when the plane's stall-warning system was activated.

It's likely that if Sullenberger or someone with his experience had been at the controls of the Colgan flight near Buffalo that night, the plane would have landed safely.

This week, the Federal Aviation Administration announced plans for stricter rules regulating regional airline pilots in terms of work hours, rest and training. Public pressure supports a push by the FAA to take a tougher stance on regional carriers' operations after the revelations surrounding the Buffalo crash.

Pilots have to get experience somewhere, but there must be systems in place at regional carriers so that public safety is not placed at risk so inexperienced pilots can gain hours at the controls of a jet before moving up to the major carriers.

Finally, the third aviation story is the continuing search for wreckage and bodies from the Air France flight that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on May 31. The plane's black box data recorders have not been located and experts warn that they might never be found because the crash site spans some 7,000 square miles and covers deep ocean water with mountainous terrain on the ocean floor.

The Air France search should force the FAA to look at modern alternatives to traditional black box systems used for decades. Some alternatives include recorders that are ejected from the plane's tail section at impact — and float. There also are advocates for real-time flight data, and even video, being fed from airliner cockpits to satellites that would then relay that digital information to airport computers or FAA offices.

Given today's technologies, there is no excuse for not having data to determine the cause of an airliner crash.

These three crashes provide lessons that should make flying safer. Federal aviation officials must take steps to improve airplane safety, pilot training, as well as crash recovery and analysis.

— J.L.W.III