Lexington to Atlanta plane crash - Delta, 50 on board

[Craptacular]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/27/plane.crash/index.html

One known survivor, but most are feared dead.

[Tigercat]

They are saying the plane took off on the wrong runway more than likely. Did not have enough speed off the short runway, clipped a tree, and all the passengers burned to death trapped in the plane.

A screwup like this wouldn't surprise me, I've flown from Bluegrass airport many many times, and I have never found it to be the most professional or well run airport. (Of course, it may also be unfair to blame the airport, it is likely that they cleared the plane for the proper runway and the pilot screwed up.)

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Tigercat

They are saying the plane took off on the wrong runway more than likely. Did not have enough speed off the short runway, clipped a tree, and all the passengers burned to death trapped in the plane.

A screwup like this wouldn't surprise me, I've flown from Bluegrass airport many many times, and I have never found it to be the most professional or well run airport. (Of course, it may also be unfair to blame the airport, it is likely that they cleared the plane for the proper runway and the pilot screwed up.)

Wow. Terrible.

[Buccaneer]

Back when I was living in the Bluegrass region and traveling constantly as a consultant, I cannot tell how many time I've flown Comair from LEX to ATL. It truly is tragic.

[Eaglesfan27]

Darn this is scary. My mom is in the process of flying home right now. Very sad for those people.

[MylesKnight]

My Father is at the Bluegrass Airport right now (my folks have lived in LEX for the past eight or nine years). He's taking a Delta Connector/Comair flight to Atlanta for business as he regularly does, this afternoon. I knew that he was flying out of LEX today but wasn't sure of the time... And then when I saw this late this morning.. That was a freaky couple of minutes before I made that call and he answered.

My Father did mention that the pilot taking off of the wrong runway at LEX is very strange. Anyone who's ever flown out of LEX even just a couple of times and payed any attention to the setup would've known they were on the wrong runway as this is a very small airport.

He said he's got no problem taking his flight this afternoon. I'm not so sure about that.. I'd rather see him just rent a car and make the drive to Austin, Texas myself (he's flying from LEX-ATL-AUS today).

Folks, make sure you tell your loved ones your feelings for them today!!!

[PilotMan]

Well guys, its a sad day for us in the industry. I really don't know what to say about it. It is something that just doesn't happen. It should never happen to a professional crew. Especially when that airport is controlled by a tower. Certainly, there is more than one person that could have averted this disaster. That particular airport does have a very tricky runway setup as both runways intersect very close at the departure end. However, that is no excuse to explain this. It sucks and I feel bad for the families of those involved.

[SnowMan]

As a professional pilot myself, it's unexplainable.

My sympathies to all affected.

[Ksyrup]

The plane went down about 4 miles east of where I live. We didn't hear or see anything. As you can imagine, the coverage here has been intense. There was a newleywed couple on board, the husband being a former UK baseball playerm and a prominent businessman from London (KY) who owned a chain of skating rinks/fun centers. I haven't lived here long enough to really know many people, but it doesn't appear anyone from my firm or that I would know was on board.

We did our shopping today in Frankfurt, as driving Versailles Road is the only way to get into Lexington from where we live. We saw a couple of "incident response" teams driving from Frankfort and a few TV crews on the way as well.

One thing that might have factored into the runway screw-up is that last weekend, the airport was shut down for a complete runway resurfacing. Apparently, not all of the lights were back in place or operational. However, even if the crew somehow accidentally turned at the wrong runway, you'd figure the tower would have caught it. I guess the voice recorder is going to be key in determining who screwed up. I'm not sure when the wrong runway thing went national, but it was already being talked about locally at 8:30am, so people here likely knew immediately what happened.

[molson]

Originally Posted by MylesKnight

He said he's got no problem taking his flight this afternoon. I'm not so sure about that.. I'd rather see him just rent a car and make the drive to Austin, Texas myself (he's flying from LEX-ATL-AUS today).

Renting a car would be way, way more dangerous.

It's pretty amazing - this was the first major U.S. commercial airplane crash since November 2001.

[Ksyrup]

My parents are flying in next weekend. Needless to say, my mom is less than thrilled about it.

[Brillig]

What's worse (if that's possible) is that the lone survivor is the co-pilot. That poor guy is gonna have survivor's guilt like you wouldn't believe...

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, it appears from the voice recorder that they were cleared by the tower for 22 but took off on 26. Not sure what hte tower could have done to stop them. I know from taking those early morning flights that the planes usually don't stop before they takeoff, they just turn and immediately gun it. Although you'd figure that if someone in the tower was on the ball, they would have had an opportunity to tell them to abort. Who knows.

[Ksyrup]

Traffic was horrible this morning going by the crash site, as you can imagine. Really, it was only because they blocked off the right lane for about 50 yards to let vehicles into the crash site area. It's directly across from Keeneland Racetrack; in fact, the service road to the crash site is right at a Keeneland sign.

[Ksyrup]

Apparently this didn't go over too well in town last night...


Emmys plane-crash spoof left LEX 18 manager 'horrified'

By Jamie Gumbrecht

HERALD-LEADER CULTURE WRITER

LEX 18 News ended an evening recap of yesterday's coverage of the Comair Flight 5191 crash for the live broadcast of the prime-time Emmy Awards. The annual TV awards show opened with shots of host Conan O'Brien bouncing inside a plane before it crashed on an island in a spoof of ABC's hit show Lost.
WLEX president and general manager Tim Gilbert, who was home watching the telecast with his family, said he was "stunned" by the introduction; if station managers had known about the intro before the broadcast, Lexington viewers wouldn't have seen it, he said.
"It was a live telecast -- we were completely helpless," Gilbert said of the Emmys. "By the time we began to react, it was over. At the station, we were as horrified as they were at home."
He said he'll complain to NBC, but he said an apology won't make up for insensitivity.
"They could have killed the opening and it wouldn't have hurt the show at all," Gilbert said. "We wish somebody had thought this through. It's somewhere between ignorance and incompetence."

[Grammaticus]

I heard on the radio this morning there was some criticism over the Emmys award show not pulling the opening segments theme. It was a LOST plane crash intro. I guess a lot of people think they should have switched to something else or just went with a generic opening in light of the Kentucky plane crash.

[Grammaticus]

dola,

looks like Ksyrup was posting a similar observation.

[Ksyrup]

I knew it! Breaking news that the repaving last weekend altered the taxi route to the runway. I just knew that wasn't a coincidence.

[SunDevil]

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diam...cksnb0828.html

Grieving Webb to make start

Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 28, 2006 12:00 AM

Despite battling emotions from learning of a close friend and former college teammate's death Sunday in the Kentucky plane crash that claimed 49 lives, Brandon Webb intends to make his scheduled start tonight against the San Diego Padres.

Manager Bob Melvin consoled the pitcher and discussed if Webb would prefer skipping the start, but the Diamondbacks ace plans to pitch and then probably will depart to Kentucky on a bereavement leave.

Jon Hooker, 27, who pitched at the University of Kentucky from 1998-2001, was among the victims of the commuter flight that crashed during takeoff at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky. Hooker had just gotten married on Saturday night to Scarlett Parsley, and the two were en route to Atlanta.

Diamondbacks utility player Andy Green, on an injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Tucson and also a teammate of Hooker's while at Kentucky, has asked the organization for a leave of absence and also was planning on flying to Kentucky.

Webb did not wish to discuss the accident Sunday, telling a reporter he would talk after tonight's game.

Hooker signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago White Sox in 2001 and played with Independent Leagues clubs in Fargo, N.D., and Joliet, Ill., before ending his baseball career a year ago.

He returned to his hometown of London, Ky., where he was working as a parole counselor and social worker. Scarlett was a graduate student at Kentucky.

Man, you just get married and this happens. My prayers are with all the victims and their families.

[Ksyrup]

There was also a couple on their way to get married.

Here's something I didn't know:



Air traffic controllers are not responsible for making sure pilots are on the right runway, said John Nance, a pilot and aviation analyst. "You clear him for takeoff and that's the end of it," Nance said. "It's not the duty of the controller to baby-sit every flight. It would have been great if he or she had, but they have other duties up there."

[Ksyrup]

Yet another wrinkle to the story...



Pilot's mention of 'Toledo' a mystery

Reference before crash unexplained

By Valarie Honeycutt Spears

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

In addition to departing from the wrong runway and initially getting on the wrong plane, one of the pilots on Comair Flight 5191 to Atlanta might have made a third mistake:
In talking to the control tower before the fatal crash, one of the pilots called out the wrong flight number and city, saying "Toledo," according to two victims' relatives who attended briefings by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Charlie Scales, the brother-in-law of Flight 5191 passenger Gregory Threet of Lexington, and Kyra Frederick, wife of passenger Bart Frederick of Danville, said they learned of the apparent mistake last week in NTSB briefings in Lexington.

Forty-nine people died Aug. 27 when Flight 5191 crashed after attempting to take off from the wrong runway at Blue Grass Airport.

Scales, who lives in Ohio, said NTSB officials told families that the "Toledo" error occurred when the pilots were "initiating takeoff."

Scales said NTSB officials did not identify which pilot misspoke.

Frederick said families were told in a briefing that the pilot quickly corrected the "Toledo" mistake and gave the correct flight number. Frederick said she was unclear whether the pilot was misidentifying Lexington or the plane's destination city, Atlanta.
"It was a series of mistakes," she said. "That was all the beginning of a bad flight."
Capt. Jeffrey Clay, who guided the plane onto the runway, died in the crash. The lone survivor, first officer James Polehinke, who was at the controls when the flight took off, remains in serious condition at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.

NTSB officials did not return two telephone calls yesterday.

Michael Gobb, executive director of Blue Grass Airport, said he could not comment on whether the pilots mistakenly referred to Toledo. He referred the question to the NTSB.
It is not clear whether either pilot had a connection to Toledo, a city in northwest Ohio. NTSB officials said earlier that Polehinke had flown from New York City to Lexington more than 24 hours before Flight 5191 was scheduled to depart.

Clay arrived in Lexington on the afternoon before the crash. In an earlier interview, Clay's wife, Amy, said she did not know what city he was in before he boarded a flight for Lexington.

What is known is that Clay and Polehinke checked in at the airport at 5:15 a.m. Aug. 27 to begin preparing for the scheduled 6 a.m. flight to Atlanta. They picked up paperwork, boarded a plane and turned on the auxiliary power unit to begin pre-flight checks.

But it was the wrong plane. A ramp worker saw their mistake and told the pilots, who got on the correct plane.

Kyra Frederick said she has at least one other key question about the crash that hasn't been answered to her satisfaction. She said her husband had been scheduled to fly from Lexington to Atlanta the night before the crash, but that flight was canceled.
She said she has not been able to find out why the flight was canceled, or whether that aircraft was the same one that crashed the next day.

Jennifer Spalding, spokeswoman for Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Ky., said the representative had a 30-minute briefing in his office yesterday from NTSB officials. But the officials revealed nothing new about the crash, she said, and nothing about what the families
say they were told.

"We heard nothing about Toledo or a wrong flight number," Spalding said. "I guess we didn't ask questions about that, but they didn't volunteer it."

After the briefing, Chandler released a statement that said:
"I remain convinced that it is premature to speculate upon any cause of this accident. While some facts are clear, such as the departure from the incorrect runway, what remains to be done is the analysis of those and other facts."

"It is imperative that the NTSB be allowed to complete their investigation so they can help us understand what caused this accident," Chandler said.

Also yesterday, more post-crash details emerged from an audio recording of radio traffic between Lexington police and dispatchers in the first hour after the accident.
Officers realized the seriousness of James Polehinke's injuries right away, the recording shows.

"I just pulled the pilot out of the front," police Officer Bryan Jared radioed to the dispatcher. "He's seriously injured. Serious facial injuries. I need somebody up here."
The dispatcher then tells Jared that police have notified the fire department, as well as "all local hospitals."

Several minutes later, Jared tells a dispatcher that he is on his way to the University of Kentucky Hospital with Polehinke. "Please have them meet us out front," Jared said. "It's critical here."

About 30 police officers responded to the scene within minutes after the dispatcher first reported a "possible plane crash."

"We've got a lot of smoke out here," one officer said as he approached the scene and began searching a private farm for the downed plane.

After finding the crash site, another officer informed others that it was difficult to reach. "Literally, you're going to have to four-wheel through the field to get to it," the officer told the dispatcher.

As officers began arriving, at first they thought they might be dealing with more than one survivor.

One officer urgently told the dispatcher: "We've got numerous injured subjects." At one point all officers were ordered to put "their reflective vests on to make them more visible to firefighters and potential survivors."

Some officers were ordered to set up a triage area in the grass, and some were directed to the airport terminal to help the families of passengers. Others were directed to gather reporters who were starting to arrive at the crash scene.