User:Mytwocents/Comair Flight 5191

Comair Flight 5191 was a domestic U.S. flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia, operated on behalf of Delta Connection by Comair. On August 27, 2006, at approximately 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. 47 passengers and 2 crewmembers were killed in the crash. The first officer was the only survivor. The flight was scheduled to land at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 7:18 a.m.

The flight was sold under the Delta brand as Delta Flight 5191 (DL5191/DAL5191) and was operated by Comair as Comair Flight 191 (OH191/COM191).

Aircraft and crew

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

The crew consisted of 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. Comair president Don Bornhorst stated in a press conference that Clay was very familiar with the aircraft.

Crash

Approximate paths at Blue Grass Airport:

  Desired path via Runway 22

  Actual path via Runway 26, ending at approximate crash site.

X marks the closed taxiway

The flight consisted of 47 passengers and three crew members. Analysis of the cockpit voice recorder indicated the aircraft was cleared to take off from Runway 22, a 7,003-foot (2,135 meter) strip used by most airline traffic at Lexington. Instead, after confirming "Runway two-two," Captain Jeffrey Clay taxied onto Runway 26, an unlit secondary runway 3,500 ft (1,067 m) long without stopping the aircraft, a common occurrence during light traffic periods, and turned the controls over to First Officer James Polehinke for takeoff. The air traffic controller in the tower was not required to maintain visual contact with the aircraft; after clearing the plane for takeoff, he turned to perform administrative duties and did not see the aircraft taxi to the runway.

Based upon an estimated takeoff weight of 49,087 pounds (22,265 kg), the manufacturer calculated a distance of 3,744 ft (1141 m) and a speed of 138 knots (159 mph or 256 km/h) would have been needed for rotation, with more needed for lift-off. The flight data recorder gave no indication either pilot tried to abort the takeoff as the aircraft accelerated to 137 knots (158 mph or 254 km/h), Clay called for rotation, and the aircraft sped off the end of the runway. It then became momentarily airborne after striking a berm, crashed through the airport boundary fence, and collided with trees, separating the fuselage and cockpit from the tail. The aircraft impacted the ground about 1000 feet (305 m) from the end of the runway, killing most victims instantly. The aircraft was destroyed by the resulting fire.

Rescue Attempt

Rescuers arrived a few minutes after the crash to the smoke and stench of burning jet fuel, rubber and underbrush in the rough field. They were surprised to see Polehinke move in the shattered cockpit. - Lexington police Officer Bryan Jared and airport police Officers James Maupin and Jon Sallee rushed to help the co-pilot as the back of the plane burned. Polehinke was in distress. He coughed and spit up blood as the officers worked to get him out. Officer Jared suffered burns during the rescue. Polehinke was in severe shock from blood loss, and had a collapsed lung and fractures to his face, spine, pelvis, breastbone, ribs, left leg, right foot and right thumb.

Victims

All 47 passengers perished along with two of the three crew members.

First Officer James M. Polehinke was pulled from the wreckage by Lexington-Fayette Police Department Officer Bryan Jared and airport police officers James Maupin and Jon Sallee. Comair released the passenger manifest of Flight 5191 on August 29, 2006. Passengers included Jonathan Hooker, a former University of Kentucky and Chicago White Sox minor league baseball pitcher, and his wife, Scarlett Parsley; they were married the night before the crash and were on the flight as the first leg of their honeymoon trip to California. Patrick Smith, who worked for Lexington's Habitat for Humanity, and was 2004 Humanities National Volunteer of the Year, also died in the crash. Three Canadians and two Japanese were also among the passengers killed.

Only a few friends and family members of the passengers were present at the Atlanta airport at the time of the crash, as most passengers were en route to other destinations via Atlanta. A memorial service for the victims was held on August 31, 2006 at the Lexington Opera House.

Full list of passengers and crew

Crew members

Captain Jeffrey Clay, 35, Burlington, Kentucky Flight Attendant Kelly Heyer, 27, Florence, Kentucky

Passengers

In alphabetical order;

1. Rebecca Adams, 47, Harrodsburg
2. Lyle Anderson, 55, Ottawa, Ont.
3. Christina Anderson, 38, Inglewood, Ont.
4. Arnold Andrews, 64, Tampa, Fla.
5. Anne Marie Bailey, 49, Vancouver, B.C.
6. Bobbie Benton, 50, Stanford
7. Jesse Clark Benton, 48, Stanford
8. Carole Bizzack, 64, Lexington
9. George Brunacini, 60, Georgetown
10. Brian Byrd, Richmond
11. Diane Combs, Lexington
12. Homer Combs, Lexington
13. Fenton Dawson, Lexington
14. Thomas Fahey, 26, Leawood, Kan.
15. Mike Finley 52, London
16. Clarence Wayne Fortney II, 34, Lexington
17. Wade Bartley Frederick, 44, Danville
18. Hollie Gilbert, Somerset
19. Erik Harris, 28, Lexington
20. Jonathan Hooker, 27, London
21. Scarlett Parsley Hooker, 23, London
22. Priscilla Johnson, 44, Lexington
23. Nahoko Kono, 31, Lexington
24. Tetsuya Kono, 34, Lexington
25. Charles Lykins, 46, Naples, Fla.
26. Dan Mallory, 55, Bourbon County
27. Steve McElravy, 57, Hagerstown, Md.
28. Lynda McKee, Richmond
29. Bobby Meaux, Harrodsburg
30. Kaye Craig Morris, Lexington
31. Leslie Morris, Lexington
32. Cecile Moscoe, 29, Richmond
33. Judy Ann Rains, Richmond
34. Michael Ryan, Lexington
35. Mary Jane Silas, 58, Columbus, Miss.
36. Pat Smith, 58, Lexington
37. Tim Snoddy, 51, Lexington
38. Marcie Thomason, 25, Washington, D.C.
39. Greg Threet, 35, Lexington
40. Randy Towles, 47, Waterton, N.Y.
41. Larry Turner, 51, Lexington
42. Victoria Washington, 54, Richmond
43. Jeff Williams, 49, Centerville, Ohio
44. Paige Winters, 16, Leawood, Kan.
45. Bryan Woodward, Lafayette, La.
46. JoAnn Wright, 56, Cincinnati
47. Betty Young, 74, Lexington

Aftermath

• During the course of the investigation, the FAA discovered that tower staffing levels had violated an internal policy requiring two controllers during the overnight shift -- one in the tower working clearance, ground, and tower frequencies; the other working TRACON, either in the tower or remotely, from Indianapolis Center. The FAA announced that Lexington, as well as other airports with similar traffic levels, would be staffed with two controllers in the tower around the clock effective immediately.

• It has been widely reported that initially, the flight crew had started the morning by mistakenly getting onto another plane.

• According to NTSB, the controller told investigators that he had worked in the Blue Grass Airport tower from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday before reporting to work again at 11:30 p.m. Saturday. He was scheduled to work until 8 a.m. Sunday. He advised investigators that he got approximately two hours of sleep. Air-traffic controllers are required to have eight hours off between shifts; the Lexington controller had a nine hour break.

• Clay and Polehinke hadn't flown into the airport since the runway approach had been changed during a repaving project. It was dark, and the center line lights on the longer runway were out because of the construction, eliminating a potential clue that Flight 5191 was on the wrong runway.

• The aforementioned recent construction work at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport had slightly realigned the taxiway leading to both runways. Instead of following the taxiway to the end, the pilots were supposed to turn onto the shorter runway momentarily before following another taxiway to the longer one. They apparently turned onto the shorter one and began their tragic departure.

Preventability

Like most aviation accidents, the crash of 5191 resulted from a confluence of small factors, the elimination of any one of which would have prevented the disaster:

• Bluegrass Airport's Runway 22 had been closed the previous week for repaving
• The flight crew was executing its first take-off since re-alignment of the taxiway
• During take-off the flight crew most likely attributed the absence of signage, inoperative center-line lights, and other atypical conditions for a commercial runway, such as to this maintenance
• The FAA, in violation of its own policy, had required the presence of only one air traffic controller in the tower during night operations.
• The controller has admitted turning away from the radar to perform administrative tasks after clearing 5191 for take-off.
• The Bombardier CJR100 was fully loaded requiring 1,605 meters (5,265.75 feet) to be fully airborne.

Similar accidents and incidents

• In 1993, a commercial jet at Blue Grass Airport was cleared for takeoff on Runway 22 but mistakenly took Runway 26 instead. Tower personnel noticed the mistake and cancelled the aircraft's takeoff clearance just as the crew realized their error. The aircraft subsequently made a safe departure from Runway 22.

• On August 30, 2002 a Learjet 25 over-ran Runway 4 on landing at Blue Grass Airport, killing one passenger. (Runway 4 is the same physical runway as 22, but in the opposite direction).

• On October 31, 2000, the crew of Singapore Airlines Flight 006 mistakenly used a closed runway for departure. In the incident the pilot confirmed twice to the control tower that he was on the correct runway. The Boeing 747-400 collided with construction equipment during the takeoff roll at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, Taipei, resulting in the deaths of 83 passengers and crew out of the 179 on board.

• On April 3, 1967 a Lexington Air Taxi Beech C-45H crashed shortly after takeoff from Runway 33 (now closed) at Blue Grass Field following a power interruption in the left engine and subsequent loss of control. All eight passengers and the pilot died in the crash.

See also

• Air safety
• Lists of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners
• National Transportation Safety Board
• Lexington, Kentucky

External links

• Blue Grass Airport
• Bombardier
• Comair: Includes hotlines to call for information.
• National Transportation Safety Board
• Photos of the aircraft involved at Airliners.net