More federal oversight could have prevented the crash of a commuter plane near Buffalo, N.Y., a year ago that killed 50 people, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday.

NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman criticized the FAA for taking too long to address the same issues of pilot inexperience, poor oversight and fatigue that were potential factors in the Feb. 12, 2009, crash.

The NTSB called on the FAA and the airline industry to more closely monitor the performance of its pilots and crews to “help ensure the pilots have mastered the skills for safe flight,” according to the agency’s report. The Washington, D.C., hearing was watched on the Internet by 60 surviving family members.

In a prepared statement, the FAA responded that it will pursue “significant” improvements in pilot professionalism, training and background checks, and that the agency will soon publish proposed rules to prevent pilot fatigue and further improve training.

The yearlong investigation into the crash has revealed that the flight’s captain, Marvin Renslow, didn’t have hands-on training on a piece of safety equipment on the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 that played a crucial role in the last seconds of the flight.

The first officer, Rebecca Shaw, earned less than $16,000 the previous year, lived with her parents near Seattle and commuted across the country overnight to Newark to make Flight 3407. She felt sick but didn’t want to pull out of the trip because she had already traveled so far, according to a cockpit voice recorder transcript.

Despite earlier statements that the plane was severely affected by cold weather, NTSB investigators said ice had a “low” influence on the performance of the pilot and crew.