Questions Concerning Comair Flight 5191 Still Under Investigation

In a follow up to my previous blog on the tragic Comair Flight 5191 accident, investigators are still uncertain as to why the twin-engine commuter jet took off the wrong runway as it departed Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport. According to the cockpit recorder, the only discussions of runways referred to #22 which is the longer than runway #26 which the jet reportedly used.

According to the ajc.com:

Using the shorter runway was a critical mistake because it is about half the length of the main runway and not long enough for the 25-ton Bombardier CRJ100 commuter jet to fully lift off, according to experts.

The plane, which needs a minimum of 5,000 feet of runway to take off, instead had only 3,500 feet. It struck a fence at the end of the runway, investigators said, then hit the ground about a quarter-mile away and burst into flames.

The crash marked the worst domestic air accident since November 2001, when 260 died aboard an American Airlines flight that crashed in Queens, N.Y.

Comair is a subsidiary of Delta Airlines, an Atlanta based corporation. The impact of this flight will unquestionably affect them as well when the time comes to impute liability and redress for the families and loved ones of those who perished in this crash. The crash’s sole survivor, James Polehinke, the flight’s first officer, is currently in critical condition and was unable to save anyone else onboard.