colgan was a new airline (comparatively) with a new type of plane. its pilots were low time upon hiring, depending upon the airline to train them, instead of bringing a wealth of experience with them.
a calculus of this might be included in the equation to develop airline safety.
When I was hired at my first, tiny commuter airline, flying Cessna 402's...I had an ATPMEL also CFIIMEI and about two thousand hours...many in actual IFR flying those awful ''bank checks''.
Colgan hired people with less experience to fly more advanced planes and payed them poorly.
Nothing beats a great pair of legs
The most important thing in flying is a well trained, experienced pilot.