Plane Crashes Near Ky. Airport
By Judy Sarasohn
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 27, 2006; 12:00 PM
A Comair flight carrying 50 people crashed a mile from Lexington, Ky.'s airport
early this morning shortly after takeoff. Only one person survived and is in
critical condition, according to airline, airport and hospital officials.
The University of Kentucky Hospital is treating one survivor, according to a
hospital spokeswoman, who said she had no other information about the
survivor's injuries. Preliminary reports from first responders to the scene had
indicated that there were 50 fatalities, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.
Comair Flight 5191, with 46 passengers and three crew members and one off-duty
crew member, crashed shortly after 6 a.m. after taking off for Atlanta, said
Michael Gobb, executive director of the Lexington Blue Grass Airport.
There was no immediate word on what caused the crash. The plane was largely
intact afterward, but there was a fire following the impact, police said at a
news conference, the Associated Press reported.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal
Aviation Administration were en route to the scene, said Laura Brown,
spokeswoman for the FAA.
Comair President Don Bornhorst said the airline had acquired the aircraft new
in 2001. Maintenance has been up to date, including routine maintenance
performed yesterday, Bornhorst said in a televised news conference. He said
maintenance records have been "clean."
"There's nothing we're seeing that jumps out at us" in regards to maintenance
issues, Bornhorst said.
While he said he could give few details immediately because of the
investigations into the accident, Bornhorst said there "was nothing of any
weather challenge that stands out" as a possible cause.
"We can not speculate on the cause of this accident," Bornhorst said, pledging
many times during the news conference the company's "full support" and "total
commitment" to the investigations of the accident as well as its "top priority"
of caring for the loved ones of the passengers and crew of the flight.
Comair established a hotline for families and friends of the victims of the
crash: 800-801-0088.
Bornhorst confirmed that the three crew members were killed in the accident.
He said the captain had been with the airline since 1999; the first officer,
since 2002; and the flight attendant, since 2004.
Fayette County (Ky.) Coroner Gary Ginn said the deaths of the Comair passengers
and crew were caused either by the impact or the "hot fire" on board, the AP
reported. Ginn said a temporary morgue is being set up at the scene.
Comair is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines based in the Cincinnati suburb of
Erlanger, Ky. The twin-engine aircraft, a Bombardier Canadair CRJ-100, can
carry up to 50 passengers, according to Delta's Web site.
Some aviation experts consider the last 4 1/2 years to have been the safest
period in U.S. aviation history. There has not been a major crash since Nov.
12, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 587 plummeted into a Queens, N.Y.,
neighborhood, killing 265 people, including five on the ground.
Last December, a seaplane, a Grumman G-73 Turbo Mallard, operated by Chalk's
Ocean Airways crashed off Miami Beach, killing 18 passengers and two crew
members, the AP reported. In 2003, an Air Midwest commuter plane crashed on
takeoff at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, killing all 21 aboard.
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