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Comair Flight 5191

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Comair Flight 191
Occurrence
DateAugust 27, 2006
Summarycrashed shortly after take-off
SiteLexington, Kentucky
Aircraft typeBombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) CRJ-100ER
OperatorComair (as Delta Connection)
RegistrationN431CA
Passengers47
Crew3
Fatalities49
Injuries1
Survivors1

Comair Flight 191 (OH191/COM191) was a flight from Lexington, Kentucky to Atlanta, Georgia. It was operated on behalf of Delta Connection by Comair. On August 27, 2006, around 6:07 a.m. local time, a Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet flying the route crashed after attempting to take off from the wrong runway at Blue Grass Airport, Lexington. The first officer was the only survivor among the 47 passengers and three crew on board. The flight was scheduled to land at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 7:18 a.m. local time.[1]

The flight was sold under the Delta brand, as Delta Flight 5191 (DL5191/DAL5191) and has also been refered to in media reports as Comair Flight 5191.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved, N431CA[2], was a 50-seat Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-100ER,[3] serial number 7472. Manufactured in Canada in January 2001, it was delivered to the airline on January 30, 2001.[4]

Crash

  Approximate crash site location
  Runway 4/22
  Runway 8/26

Initial analysis of the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder indicates the plane attempted to take off from the wrong runway, Runway 26. The aircraft was cleared to take off from Runway 22, a 7,003-ft (2,135 m) strip used by most airline traffic at Lexington.[5] Instead, after the pilot confirmed "Runway 2-2," the aircraft began its takeoff roll on Runway 26, an unlit runway, that runs just 3,400 ft (1,067 m) long.[6] The aircraft, weighing over 49,000 lbs., rolled off the end of the runway, as it (according to the 8/29/2006 NTSB report), needed a minimum of 3,586 feet to take-off successfully. Upon leaving the runway, the aircraft clipped a boundary fence, cleared a barbed wire fence, and skidded along a grassy field until it ran into a group of trees. Upon impact, the fuselage and cockpit separated from its tail. The aircraft, ultimately came to rest largely intact in an area less than half a mile (0.8 km) from the end of the runway. Reportedly most victims did not survive the impact; only some were killed, according to the Lexington Coroner's report, by the post-crash fire.

Victims

There were 50 people on board; all 47 passengers perished along with two of the three crew members.

The crew has been identified as Captain Jeffrey Clay, 35, who was hired by Comair in November 1999, First Officer James M. Polehinke, 44, who was hired in March 2002, and flight attendant Kelly Heyer, 27, hired in July 2004. Heyer was a 2003 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.[7] Comair president Don Bornhorst stated in a press conference that Clay was very familiar with the aircraft.[4]

Passengers included Jon Hooker, a former University of Kentucky and minor league baseball player,[8] and his wife, Scarlett Parsley, a Centre College graduate. They were married the night before the crash and were on the flight as the first leg of their honeymoon trip to California.[9] Pat Smith, who worked for Lexington's Habitat for Humanity, and was 2004 Humanities National Volunteer of the Year, also perished in the crash.[10]

Canadians Lyle and Christina Anderson were also among the dead, according to Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs.[11] Japan's Foreign Ministry announced that two Japanese, Tetsuya and Nahoko Kono, were killed in the crash.[12]

Only a few friends and family members of the passengers were present at the Atlanta airport at the time of the crash, since most of the victims had planned to connect to other flights en route to their destinations. The sister of one victim had planned to fly with the victim on a connecting flight so the two could go on an Alaskan cruise.[1]

Survivor

First Officer James M. Polehinke was pulled from the wreckage by Lexington-Fayette Police Department Officer Bryan Jared and two airport security workers, Pete Maupin and John Sallee. As of August 29, 2006[13] he is in critical condition at the University of Kentucky's Albert B. Chandler Medical Center, where he underwent surgery for his injuries.[14] Officer Jared suffered burns on his arms while pulling him out of the wreckage.[15]

Similar accidents

  • In 1993, a jet at the same airport was stopped by a flight controller before making the identical error that occured on Sunday, August 27. The pilot had confused runway 26 for runway 22.

References

  1. ^ a b "NTSB: Crashed jet used shorter runway". CNN. 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2006-08-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "FAA Registry (N431CA)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  3. ^ "Comair provides updated information regarding Flight 5191" (Press release). Comair. 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
  4. ^ a b "Comair Confirms One Survivor in Kentucky Crash". IBS. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
  5. ^ "49 dead in plane crash in Kentucky; 1 survives". MSNBC. 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2006-08-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "AirNav runway information for KLEX". AirNav. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
  7. ^ "UWEC Grad Remembered by Friends".
  8. ^ "[[Joliet JackHammers]] Statement". August 28, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-28. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  9. ^ "Newlywed Baseball Player Dead In Crash". CBS News. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
  10. ^ "Crash victims". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
  11. ^ "Jet taxi route changed a week before crash: airport director". CBC News. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
  12. ^ "2 Japanese die in Kentucky plane crash". Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
  13. ^ Jeffrey McMurray, "Crash Probe: Ky. Runway Route Changed", Associated Press, 2006-08-29
  14. ^ Jeffrey McMurray, "Lone Comair survivor pulled from plane", Houston Chronicle, 2006-08-27
  15. ^ "Crashed plane took off from wrong runway". The Associated Press. 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2006-08-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Probable cause report of Lear Jet crash". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 2006-08-27.

See also

Wikinews has related news:
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