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Thread: Comair 191, Aug 27/06, Lexington, Kentucky

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    toronto, canada ( Etobicoke)
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    Comair 191, Aug 27/06, Lexington, Kentucky

    here is one crash that could have been avoided. All 47 passengers and 2 crew members were killed when the plane crashed at the end of the runway. The plane was not airborne. There was one survivor - the first officer. The NTSB report:

    http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2007/AAR0705.htm

    cause of crash:

    crew error - they took off from the wrong runway which was way short. The plane crashed into the perimeter fence and trees. Crash pictures here:
    http://www.baaa-acro.com/Dossier%20Photo/N431CA.htm

    contributing factors: the air traffic control tower was undermanned. This was one guy working who was fatigued. Also - irrelevant conversation between the flight crew before attempted takeoff - one guy ordered a coke with ice. The transcipt is included in the NTSB report - the crew is talking about everything except the takeoff. I guess pilots can get complacent.

    the survivor James Polehinke ( first officer) is suing everybody - he is in a wheelchair and has no memory of the crash. He is suing even though he is partly responsible. here is an article on Polehinke, he seems to have some survivors remorse:

    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/06/national/main1979598.shtml


    pilot's widow is interviewed:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn_pqD4rVNs
    more info:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWd4y2zHXow

    no permanent memorial has been erected.
    last words on flight recorder: "weird that the are no lights?" followed by "Whoa" and the impact.

  2. #2
    Chevyheaven Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by cash View Post
    last words on flight recorder: "weird that the are no lights?" followed by "Whoa" and the impact.

    "Look Melvin what pretty trees out here...Is that freeway..wow there sure are alot of cars out this time of morning.. "

  3. #3
    SueWahoo Guest
    Good post, Cash. I think it was ComAir Flight 5191, though. I found this on youtube and thought it was interesting:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaVY008XGSA

  4. #4
    Chevyheaven Guest
    Yes thats true all comair flights are series 5000

  5. #5
    tommyjox Guest
    I wonder how many poor souls in the back were looking out the window and being aware of the situation were unable to communicate with the cockpit.

    "Weird that there are no lights......."

    Sooner or later complacency kills.

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by SueWahoo View Post
    Good post, Cash. I think it was ComAir Flight 5191, though. I found this on youtube and thought it was interesting:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaVY008XGSA
    thanks Sue. the tragic thing is that there were only 2 runways - one short and one long.
    Last edited by cash; 04-26-2008 at 08:22 PM.

  7. #7
    Hag1 Guest
    I knew someone that died in that crash--sad

  8. #8
    Guest Guest
    Why am I reading this post when I fly out on Tuesday?.......geez

  9. #9
    Chevyheaven Guest
    dont worry about it Big. I mean if your meant to go than your mean to go. Always remember its safer to fly than drive. That stat is so true.. Think of the thousands of car accidents there are everyday. And then think about the number of airplane crashes there are.

    I would fly over driving and day.

  10. #10
    MeltingCandle Guest
    Never get on a flight with the call sign of 191.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America...nes_Flight_191
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Air_Lines_Flight_191
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comair_Flight_5191

    That has got to be the unluckiest call sign of all time.

    I am very familiar with the world of Air Traffic Control and the Comair accident was totally avoidable. The FAA is trying to reduce costs to the bare minimum and if that means having only one controller in a tower for 8 to 10 hours, well then grasp your rosary beads extra tight and splash some holy water on before boarding.
    http://themainbang.typepad.com/blog/2008/03/index.html

  11. #11
    Andrea Guest
    It was Comair 5191, and those pilots even tried to board the wrong plane that morning. My mom saw a flash of light when it crashed (she lives near the airport) and the whole day there were a stream of ambulances leaving the airport with the remains. The pilots didn't check their compass which would have shown them they were on the wrong runway and they did a rolling takeoff where they just rolled onto the runway and went and didn't stop before they started their takeoff roll. Only small planes take off from that runway, so it was a huge mistake. There was a man working on the ground at the airport and he saw what was happening and tried to run after the plane. I'm sorry for the surviving Pilot --- he was the co-pilot and was the one flying the plane --- it was just a huge mistake --- that's never happened at that airport before. The whole thing was very sad for everyone. The pilots noticed at the last moment that they ran out of runway but by then it was too late --- they crashed through a fence and then into trees and that was it. They never got far off the ground, and most of the people died of blunt force trauma. I too knew someone who died on that plane.
    Last edited by Andrea; 04-27-2008 at 02:19 PM. Reason: typo

  12. #12
    Lisamarie Guest
    planecrashes scare me !!!!

  13. #13
    Andrea Guest
    I'm sorry for everyone in that crash, but LEX is not a huge airport and the main runway was lit up like a Christmas tree and the other was dark when this crash happened. There's only 1 big runway there, and that's it, and they had to have seen it because the lights would have been right in front of them before they made the tragic turn. It would be hard to miss.......

  14. #14
    Join Date
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    Maybe I am confusing this with another plane crash involving what seems to be unbelievable pilot error, but weren't there other things that got them on the wrong runway that night? Like the lights were out, or they were repainting/redrawing the runways and some of the signage was wrong? From what I remember, it was like a perfect storm. Not one incident would have caused the crash, but the combination and timing of them were lethal.

    Note to self: whenever being recorded to the black box, talk about how much you love God and family. This wasn't the worst pre-crash conversation I have heard, but as a surviving family member I would have felt somewhat disappointed in my family member.
    Any day above ground is a good day.

  15. #15
    Andrea Guest
    I didn't think it was a bad pre-crash conversation in terms of content --- they just seemed to be talking about their jobs and family and it sounds like they were just doing too much talking when they were supposed to focus on the takeoff. Yes, there was construction going on at the airport at that time --- when we went to the Bahamas a month after that crash they had a big flourescent X barrier blocking that runway and it was chilling to taxi by it on the plane. Also, the man who owns the farm on which the plane crashed tried to sue because he said it hurt the value of his property --- I think that suit was thrown out.
    Last edited by Andrea; 04-28-2008 at 05:55 AM.

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