Comair Flight 5191: Difference between revisions
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Comair Flight 5191 is the designation used in all public documents relating to the crash, including those of the NTSB and the airlines themselves |
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{{Infobox Airliner accident|name=Comair Flight |
{{Infobox Airliner accident|name=Comair Flight 5191| |
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Crash image=Comair CRJ100ER JAX N941CA.jpg|360px|Image caption=A CRJ-100ER in Comair livery at the gate in [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]], [[Florida]]| |
Crash image=Comair CRJ100ER JAX N941CA.jpg|360px|Image caption=A CRJ-100ER in Comair livery at the gate in [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]], [[Florida]]| |
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Date=[[August 27]], [[2006]]| |
Date=[[August 27]], [[2006]]| |
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'''Comair |
'''Comair Flight 5191''', was a scheduled [[United States|U.S.]] domestic passenger flight from [[Lexington, Kentucky]], to [[Atlanta, Georgia]], operated on behalf of [[Delta Connection]] by [[Comair]]. On the morning of [[August 27]], [[2006]], the [[Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet]] that was being used for the flight crashed while attempting to [[takeoff|take off]] from [[Blue Grass Airport]] in [[Fayette County, Kentucky]], four miles (6 kilometers) west of the central business district of the City of Lexington. |
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The aircraft was assigned the [[airport]]'s Runway 22 for the takeoff, but used Runway 26 instead. Runway 26 was too short for a safe takeoff, causing the aircraft to overrun the end of the runway before it could become airborne. It crashed just past the end of the runway, killing all 47 passengers and two of the three crew. The flight's [[first officer]] was the only survivor.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/27/plane.crash/index.html |publisher=[[CNN]] |accessdate=2006-08-27 |date=[[2006-08-27]] |title=Questions hang over why crashed jet used short runway}}</ref><ref name="ibs">{{cite news|url=http://www.wsbtv.com/news/9743984/detail.html |publisher=[[Internet Broadcasting Systems|IBS]]|accessdate=2006-08-29 |title=NTSB: Crashed Jet On Wrong Runway}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060907044841/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060827/ap_on_re_us/kentucky_crash| title=Comair plane took off from wrong runway | publisher=The Associated Press | author=Jeffrey McMurray | date=[[August 27]], [[2006]]}}</ref> |
The aircraft was assigned the [[airport]]'s Runway 22 for the takeoff, but used Runway 26 instead. Runway 26 was too short for a safe takeoff, causing the aircraft to overrun the end of the runway before it could become airborne. It crashed just past the end of the runway, killing all 47 passengers and two of the three crew. The flight's [[first officer]] was the only survivor.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/27/plane.crash/index.html |publisher=[[CNN]] |accessdate=2006-08-27 |date=[[2006-08-27]] |title=Questions hang over why crashed jet used short runway}}</ref><ref name="ibs">{{cite news|url=http://www.wsbtv.com/news/9743984/detail.html |publisher=[[Internet Broadcasting Systems|IBS]]|accessdate=2006-08-29 |title=NTSB: Crashed Jet On Wrong Runway}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060907044841/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060827/ap_on_re_us/kentucky_crash| title=Comair plane took off from wrong runway | publisher=The Associated Press | author=Jeffrey McMurray | date=[[August 27]], [[2006]]}}</ref> |
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== Flight details == |
== Flight details == |
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Although commonly referred to as '''Comair Flight 5191''', the flight was sold under the [[Delta Air Lines|Delta]] brand as '''Delta Flight 5191''' (DL5191), and was operated by [[Comair]] as '''Comair Flight 191''' (OH191/COM191).{{fact}} Comair is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta. |
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The flight had been scheduled to land at [[Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport]] at 7:18 a.m. |
The flight had been scheduled to land at [[Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport]] at 7:18 a.m. |
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All 47 passengers, and two of the three crew members, on board the flight were killed. |
All 47 passengers, and two of the three crew members, on board the flight were killed. |
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Comair released the passenger manifest of Flight |
Comair released the passenger manifest of Flight 5191 on [[August 29]], [[2006]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.delta.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10347|title=Passenger Manifest for Flight 5191|author=Delta}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comair.com/comair/cdc.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=cdc_pg_0021&newsNodeId=%2FComairDotComRepository%2Fcdc%2Fnews%2F5191+Passenger+Manifest&_nfls=false|title=Passenger Manifest for Flight 5191|author=Comair}}</ref> |
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Most of the passengers were American citizens from the Lexington area. The victims ranged in age from 16 to 72. They included a young couple who had been married the previous day and were travelling to California on their honeymoon.<ref name="c-j remembering flight 5191">{{cite news | url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS01/60828021&theme=COMAIR&template=theme | title=Remembering Flight 5191 | publisher=''Lexington Courier-Journal'' | date=August 2007}}</ref> |
Most of the passengers were American citizens from the Lexington area. The victims ranged in age from 16 to 72. They included a young couple who had been married the previous day and were travelling to California on their honeymoon.<ref name="c-j remembering flight 5191">{{cite news | url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS01/60828021&theme=COMAIR&template=theme | title=Remembering Flight 5191 | publisher=''Lexington Courier-Journal'' | date=August 2007}}</ref> |
Revision as of 04:31, 17 September 2008
![]() A CRJ-100ER in Comair livery at the gate in Jacksonville, Florida | |
Occurrence | |
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Date | August 27, 2006 |
Summary | Pilot error |
Site | Blue Grass Airport, Lexington, Kentucky |
Aircraft type | Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) CRJ-100ER |
Operator | Comair (d/b/a Delta Connection) |
Registration | N431CA[1] |
Flight origin | Blue Grass Airport |
Destination | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport |
Passengers | 47 |
Crew | 3 |
Fatalities | 49 |
Injuries | 1 |
Survivors | 1 |
Comair Flight 5191, was a scheduled U.S. domestic passenger flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia, operated on behalf of Delta Connection by Comair. On the morning of August 27, 2006, the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet that was being used for the flight crashed while attempting to take off from Blue Grass Airport in Fayette County, Kentucky, four miles (6 kilometers) west of the central business district of the City of Lexington.
The aircraft was assigned the airport's Runway 22 for the takeoff, but used Runway 26 instead. Runway 26 was too short for a safe takeoff, causing the aircraft to overrun the end of the runway before it could become airborne. It crashed just past the end of the runway, killing all 47 passengers and two of the three crew. The flight's first officer was the only survivor.[2][3][4]
Flight details
Although commonly referred to as Comair Flight 5191, the flight was sold under the Delta brand as Delta Flight 5191 (DL5191), and was operated by Comair as Comair Flight 191 (OH191/COM191).[citation needed] Comair is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta.
The flight had been scheduled to land at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 7:18 a.m.
The aircraft involved, was a 50-seat Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-100ER, serial number 7472.[5] 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 the lone survivor of the crash, and flight attendant Kelly Heyer, 27, hired in July 2004.
Crash
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/KLEX_USGS_Comair_Paths.jpg/300px-KLEX_USGS_Comair_Paths.jpg)
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.[6] Instead, after confirming "Runway two-two," Captain Jeffrey Clay taxied onto Runway 26, an unlit secondary runway only 3,500 ft (1,067 m) long,[7] and turned the controls over to First Officer James Polehinke for takeoff.[8] The air traffic controller in the control 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. Footage from one of the airport's security cameras shows the aircraft taxiing and then commencing its take-off run from the wrong runway.[9]
Based upon an estimated takeoff weight of 49,087 pounds (22,265 kg),[10] the manufacturer calculated a speed of 138 knots (159 miles per hour or 256 kilometers per hour) and a distance of 3,744 feet (1141 m) would have been needed for rotation (increasing nose-up pitch), with more runway needed to achieve lift-off.[11] At a speed approaching 100 knots (115 miles per hour), Polehinke remarked, "Dat (sic) is weird with no lights," referring to the lack of lighting on Runway 26.[12] "Yeah," confirmed Clay, but the flight data recorder gave no indication either pilot tried to abort the takeoff as the aircraft accelerated to 137 knots (158 miles per hour or 254 kilometers per hour).
Clay called for rotation but the aircraft sped off the end of the runway before it could lift off. It then struck a berm, becoming momentarily airborne,[12] clipped the airport perimeter fence with its landing gear, 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.[10] 49 of the 50 people on board perished in the accident, most of whom were killed instantly in the initial impact.[13] A resulting fire destroyed the aircraft.
Victims
All 47 passengers, and two of the three crew members, on board the flight were killed. Comair released the passenger manifest of Flight 5191 on August 29, 2006.[14][15]
Most of the passengers were American citizens from the Lexington area. The victims ranged in age from 16 to 72. They included a young couple who had been married the previous day and were travelling to California on their honeymoon.[16]
Nationality | Passengers | Crew | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Killed | Total | Killed | Total | Killed | |
![]() |
42 | 42 | 3 | 2 | 45 | 44 |
![]() |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
![]() |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Total | 47 | 47 | 3 | 2 | 50 | 49 |
Note: the two Japanese citizens were residents of Lexington, Kentucky.
A memorial service for the victims was held on August 31, 2006 at the Lexington Opera House.[17] A second public memorial service was held on September 10, 2006 at Rupp Arena in Lexington.[18] The Lexington Herald-Leader published a list of the victims with short biographies.[19]
Survivor
James Polehinke, the first officer, suffered serious injuries, including multiple broken bones, a collapsed lung, and severe bleeding. Lexington-Fayette and airport police officers pulled Polehinke out of the wreckage. Polehinke underwent surgery for his injuries, including an amputation of his left leg. Doctors later determined that Polehinke had suffered brain damage and has no memory of the crash or the events leading up to it.[20] As of August 2007, Polehinke was confined to a wheelchair.[21] During the same month, Polehinke filed a lawsuit against the airport and the company that designed the runway and taxi lights.[22]
Polehinke said through his attorney, William Johnson, that "the 47 passengers should have known of dangerous conditions at Blue Grass Airport, including the need to improve runway conditions." Johnson later withdrew the argument. David Royse, an attorney for the plaintiffs, criticized Polehinke's statement.[23]
Aftermath
During the course of the ongoing investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) discovered that tower staffing levels at Blue Grass Airport violated an internal policy as reflected in a November 16, 2005 memorandum requiring two controllers during the overnight shift: one in the tower working clearance, ground, and tower frequencies, and another — either in the tower or remotely at Indianapolis Center — working TRACON (radar).[24] At the time of the accident, the single controller in the tower was performing both tower and radar duties. On August 30, 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.[25]
On September 12, Comair announced that all of its pilots had been using an airport map with outdated information at the time of the crash. A new diagram was received by the airline on Friday, September 8, two weeks after the crash. At the same time, the airline issued a warning to pilots to exercise "extreme caution" when taxiing to the appropriate runway.[26] Despite the existence of the outdated chart, an airport spokesman stated that the updated taxi route was available to pilots via a Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) released when the construction began.[27]
On September 14, Fayette Circuit Judge Pamela Goodwine issued a restraining order to prevent Blue Grass Airport from continuing any construction to preserve evidence in the crash pending the inspection by safety experts and attorneys for the families of the victims.[28]
On December 12, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that the FAA should take steps to ensure that pilots cross-check their position before crossing the hold-short line[29] and initiating takeoff. The NTSB also recommended that pilots be given specific guidance on runway lighting requirements for take-off at night.[30]
The NTSB released several factual reports on January 17, 2007, including transcripts and recordings of the CVR and an engineering report.[31][32][33][34]
In April 2007, the NTSB made four further recommendations, three measures to avoid fatigue affecting the performance of air traffic controllers,[35] and one to prevent controllers from carrying out non-essential administrative tasks whilst aircraft are taxiing under their control.[36] Although these recommendations were published during the course of the NTSB's investigation into the accident to Comair Flight 191, they were in part prompted by four earlier accidents, and the Board was unable to determine whether fatigue contributed to the Comair accident.
In July 2007, a flying instructor for Comair testified that he would have failed both pilots for violating sterile cockpit rules.[37] Later the same month, the NTSB released its final report into the accident, citing this "non-pertinent conversation" as a contributing factor in the accident.
Families of 45 of the 47 passengers sued Comair for negligence. (Families of the other two victims settled with the airline before filing litigation). Three sample cases were due to be heard on August 4, 2008; but the trial was indefinitely postponed after Comair reached a settlement with the majority of the families.[38][39] Cases brought by Comair against the airport and the FAA, arguing that they should share in the compensation payments, remain pending.[40]
Probable cause
During a public meeting on July 26, 2007, the NTSB announced the probable cause of the accident, as follows:
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the flight crewmembers’ failure to use available cues and aids to identify the airplane’s location on the airport surface during taxi and their failure to cross‑check and verify that the airplane was on the correct runway before takeoff. Contributing to the accident were the flight crew’s nonpertinent conversations during taxi, which resulted in a loss of positional awareness and the Federal Aviation Administration’s failure to require that all runway crossings be authorized only by specific air traffic control clearances.[41][8]
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.[42]
- On October 31, 2000, the crew of Singapore Airlines Flight 006 mistakenly used a closed runway for departure from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport), Taipei. The Boeing 747-400 collided with construction equipment during the takeoff roll, resulting in the deaths of 83 of the 179 passengers and crew on board.
References
- ^ "FAA Registry (N431CA)". Federal Aviation Administration.
- ^ "Questions hang over why crashed jet used short runway". CNN. 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "NTSB: Crashed Jet On Wrong Runway". IBS. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
- ^ Jeffrey McMurray (August 27, 2006). "Comair plane took off from wrong runway". The Associated Press.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ N431CA FAA registration certificate, retrieved June 19, 2008. (Note: CL600-2B19 is the official designation of the CRJ100).
- ^ "NTSB Preliminary Report DCA06MA064". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
- ^ "AirNav runway information for KLEX". AirNav. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ a b "Report of Aviation Accident, Comair Flight 5191, NTSB/AAR-07/05" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
- ^ "The last minutes of Comair Flight 5191 (Video)". Courier-Journal.
- ^ a b "Comair flight almost made it". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2006-08-31.[dead link]
- ^ "NTSB: LEX Controller Had Two Hours Of Sleep Prior To Accident Shift". Aero-News Network. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
- ^ a b "Crew Sensed Trouble Seconds Before Crash". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
- ^ "Coroner: Most Victims Died on Impact". Associated Press. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
- ^ Delta. "Passenger Manifest for Flight 5191".
- ^ Comair. "Passenger Manifest for Flight 5191".
- ^ "Remembering Flight 5191". Lexington Courier-Journal. August 2007.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Mark Pitsch (August 31, 2006). "Several hundred attend memorial service at Lexington Opera House". The Courier-Journal (Louisville).
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Mass Memorial in Lexington Pays Respect to Flight 51-91 Victims". WKYT-TV (Lexington). September 9, 2006.
{{cite news}}
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(help)[dead link] - ^ Linda Blackford and Amy Wilson (September 3, 2006). "The Tragedy of Flight 5191". Lexington Herald-Leader.
{{cite news}}
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(help)[dead link] - ^ "Comair Crash Survivor Leaves Hospital; Co-Pilot, The Lone Survivor Of Kentucky Plane Crash, To Begin Rehabilitation". CBS News. 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "'A horrendous, horrendous tragedy all around'". courier-journal.com. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
- ^ "Polehinke Files Suit in Crash: REMEMBERING FLIGHT 5191". redorbit.com. Retrieved 2008-03-05.[dead link]
- ^ "Comair passengers blamed in crash". The Courier-Journal. 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help)[dead link] - ^ "FAA memorandum concerning staffing levels" (PDF).
- ^ "FAA: Tower staffing during plane crash violated rules". CNN. Retrieved 2006-09-06.
- ^ "Letters: Controllers complained before Comair crash". CNN. Retrieved 2006-09-13.[dead link]
- ^ "Pilots' charts of airport were out of date". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 2006-09-13.[dead link]
- ^ "Judge orders halt to airport construction". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 2006-09-15.
- ^ The hold-short line is the demarcation between the runway and taxiway.
- ^ "NTSB safety recommendations A-06-83/84" (PDF). NTSB. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
- ^ "NTSB Advisory". NTSB. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
- ^ "Pilots in Ky. crash violated rules". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-01-17.[dead link]
- ^ "Excerpts of Comair Cockpit Recording". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-01-18.[dead link]
- ^ "Comair flight 5191 cockpit communications" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ "NTSB safety recommendations A-07-30/31/32" (PDF). NTSB. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
- ^ "NTSB safety recommendation A-07-34]" (PDF). NTSB. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
- ^ Instructor: 5191 Pilots Violated Rules (Associated Press) - lex18.com - Obtained July 19, 2007, published, July 19, 2007.
- ^ "Comair crash trial called off". Courier-Journal. 2008-08-02.
- ^ "Assessing the crash's toll". Courier-Journal. 2008-07-27.
- ^ "Justices to decide if Comair can sue". Courier-Journal. 2008-08-14.
- ^ "NTSB Press Release, July 7, 2007". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
- ^ "NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System report #256788". NASA. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
See also
- Air safety
- Lists of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners
- National Transportation Safety Board
- Lexington, Kentucky
External links
- Articles with dead external links from June 2008
- Articles with dead external links from September 2008
- Articles with broken or outdated citations from June 2008
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 2006
- 2006 in the United States
- Accidents and incidents on commercial airliners in the United States
- Accidents and incidents on commercial airliners in Kentucky
- Delta Air Lines flights
- Disasters in Kentucky