Comair Crash

[I Hate Freight]

Wow, that's almost exactly the wording I used in the email I just wrote to MSNBC.

Fortunately, only about 12 people are watching that pathetic excuse of a network at any given time.

Great email though!

 

[No Delay]

Man...this both breaks my heart and scares me to death.

From me and my family - god bless you all. We are so sorry for all your loss. Our hearts go out to the families left behind.

As a dad, I can't stand the thought of my wife and kids having to wake up to that kind of news. We have certainly been a more loving family today!


As a pilot, I wanted to wait before I jumped to conclusions about what caused the crash. I think with all the information coming in (pictures and videos) that it is obvious that they came off the wrong runway.

All I can think about is how easily this could have been me.

How many times have we been in our own little world (running checklist, making PA's) not watching where we are taxiing or what runway we are on.

Several times, have been cleared for takeoff before leaving the ramp area. Now, I am suddenly 3 checklist behind and trying to get everything done before we get to the end of the runway...more focused of completing the checklist than I am my surroundings.


HockeyPilot? Was that a serious post????? Did you really mean to type that? Certainly...hopefully not.

 

[Black Hawk]

But still this accident is so incomprehensable that there must be more to it than just mistaken runways.

The only thing that I find incomprehensible is how this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. I don't intend to comment specifically on this accident but, with all the irregular work/sleep hours, financial hardship and instability in the airline environment and hectic pace at some airports the people who work in these jobs are under a huge amount of stress. That kind of stress plays a role in all the mistakes each of us makes. Trying to pretend it's no big deal and suck it up just makes things worse. My prayers are for the deceased, their families and a solution to this chaos.

 

[iflyabeech]

I think that is is smart to take the mistakes of others and learn from them. As it is said, ". . . the FARS are written in the blood of pilots. . . "

It is a sad fact. I may be critical of an error that killed 49 folks and severly injured another, but that doesn't mean that I think I am perfect. This accident will be one of those things I think about when taking off.

It is obvious that these guys took off on the wrong runway. There is sure to be a chain of events leading up to this fact. Maybe they were tired. Maybe the controller wasn't watching and paying attention. Maybe the airport chart was not current. There are lots of other factors in this accident that we will find out about. Lets take all of them and learn from them in order to become safer pilots.

 

[MALSR]

Hey Comair guys (or any other crj drivers), just curious if your procedures are the same as ours in that you set your heading bug to runway heading before taxi out from the gate.

 

[SlapShot]

http://www.airdisaster.com/photos/n431ca/2.shtml

It takes the NTSB months, even years to come up with exactly what happened to cause any accident. With the recent advances in crash investigating airdisaster.com is able to come out with the cause (note not even the PROBABLE cause) of this accident.

 

[Flythis]

If you have never done a "stand up" overnight you are not qualified to comment on the crews performance. Everyone makes mistakes. Regardless of how severe the mistake this crew may have made, I blame fatigue brought on by the greed of management for this accident. No one in his or her right mind would ask a doctor to perform surgery after 4 hours “sleep”.

Why do we let ourselves be taken advantage of to the point of tragedy? I love to fly, but I still demand to be paid for it, and you should to. Let's put the professional back into pilot pay and work rules.
RIP

 

[FN FAL]

http://www.airdisaster.com/photos/n431ca/2.shtml

It takes the NTSB months, even years to come up with exactly what happened to cause any accident. With the recent advances in crash investigating airdisaster.com is able to come out with the cause (note not even the PROBABLE cause) of this accident.

Did you notice the two crown victorias by the hole in the fence? I wonder what they are doing?

 

[DelphinDriver]

I think that is is smart to take the mistakes of others and learn from them. As it is said, ". . . the FARS are written in the blood of pilots. . . " It is a sad fact. I may be critical of an error that killed 49 folks and severly injured another, but that doesn't mean that I think I am perfect. This accident will be one of those things I think about when taking off.
It is obvious that these guys took off on the wrong runway. There is sure to be a chain of events leading up to this fact. Maybe they were tired. Maybe the controller wasn't watching and paying attention. Maybe the airport chart was not current. There are lots of other factors in this accident that we will find out about. Lets take all of them and learn from them in order to become safer pilots.

Please, just go away iflyabeech, you're embarassing....and Midnight flyer that was my freedom of speech, My hat is off to you and your reply 400A

Ya know, empty wagons rattle the loudest....

God bless the families and may they be spared the likes of some of you expert pilots.

 

[iflyabeech]

Although the outcome was better, this reminds me of the incident in Anchorage a few years ago when one of the asian cargo companies took off on the parallel taxiway. . .and left tire tracks in a snowbank at the end of a taxiway. . .

 

[j41driver]

They might have had numbers for that runway, but the configuration was wrong.

I have no idea how CMR gets their takeoff perf data but I can tell you that there is no CRJ-200 that will takeoff from a 3500' runway with 50 people on it. IIRC, we didn't have numbers for the short runway in LEX for the DoJet and that airplane doesn't need nearly as much runway as the CRJ does. That said, this really could have happened to any of us.

 

[j41driver]

Look at the taxiway diagram
Esp if both rwys had lights on, there was ample opportunity for error.
http://download.aopa.org/ustprocs/20060803/airport_diagrams/00697AD.PDF

Out of all the airports I've flown out of LEX would be the easiest one to make this mistake at. My wife (ex-DoJet FO) had a new CA start to line up on the short runway once, so I know it happens. I'm sure it has happened quite a bit actually, fortunately the crews caught their mistake before it was too late.

 

[WateryGrave]

Our runway analysis book at Comair does not have data for runway 26/8. Only 4/22 is listed.

 

[Longhorn]

La Crosse is bad as well. Early in the morning on a CDO, its easy to line up with rwy 3 (i think) vs 36

 

[PCL_128]

Look at the taxiway diagram
Esp if both rwys had lights on, there was ample opportunity for error.
http://download.aopa.org/ustprocs/20060803/airport_diagrams/00697AD.PDF

Exactly. I just did a CDO to LEX last week. That place was an accident waiting to happen. Any airport with a runway configuration similar to LEX should have sufficient signage near the runways to make a crew take special notice.

 

[Tim47SIP]

All right. This is pathetic. As of 12:37 pm EDT, the female "reporter" on MSNBC stated that "their producer just tried calling the 1-800 number set up by Delta and was on hold for 15 minutes." Then she turned to ask a clinical psychologist how this 15 minute period must feel to those relatives and friends who were calling the hotline.

You know, XM radio just announced that they were dropping MSNBC due to scheduling conflicts. Another source stated that is was due to very very poor ratings. I guess this one serves them right!

 

[JFReservist]

A Time and Place

First of all, may God bless all involved with His mercy and grace...a horrible day for our Comair brothers

Second, some of you really trouble me. I don't really know how else to say it. I have scared myself stupid in a cockpit, in both seats, in a few different planes - one of them an RJ. Do you think the crew woke up and decided to break their families hearts and said 'let's see if we can't kill ourselves today?' I am truly amazed, and a few other words, by the lack of judgment and insensitivity of some of the posts here.

Could be me, but if you don't have a "there but for the grace of God go I" attitude, or - not to offend - a sense of humility about your craft, I don't think I want you flying my family around. Humility doesn't condone making critical mistakes at the most inopportune times, but it does lend one a 'holy crap - I could have easily done that given those circumstances' attitude. There is a time and a place to study and learn from those that have come before us, but there is also a time to STFU and thank God that there but by His grace...

 

[701EV]

You know what RIP to the deceased but no matter what they say, this was pilot error, even if ATC or other factors were involved they should have never taken off that runway. If this is indeed what it looks like, it might be one of the stupidest pilot error accidents in U.S aviation history. And if the pilot jumpseater, who must know the airport, was in the cockpit it adds to it. But still this accident is so incomprehensable that there must be more to it than just mistaken runways.

CX880,

Sir you are an A$$!

If the only airplane you have flown is a 172 GO PASCK SAND!

Hey Modiraitors, grow some balls.

49 people died today.

They've been dead for 16hrs and 25min.

How about you take the BS off the forum that has anything to do with stupid comments like, Pilot error, Stupid mistake, Wrong runway or anything like that.

If you have less than 3000 hrs Shut Up

If you don't fly 121 or 135 Shut Up

If your aircraft weighs less than 25000lbs Shut Up.

God help some of you folks the day you make your mistake!

My Thoughts and prayers to everyone involved with this tragedy.

701EV

 

[dingo222]

here is a nasa study on pilot fatigue and circadian rhythms

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/legaff/mann8-3.html

the article is really good, but the 3rd paragraph tells the story we all need to hear. I'm not saying this came into play, but we have all found ourselves on the back side of the clock, droning out in the cockpit. Again, I'm not speculating one bit here.

On another note, say a prayer, chant, sing, moment of silence, drink, or whatever it is you do for the FO tonight. I spent 14 months in Iraq before I came to my present flying job, and was a patrol leader one day when my team got hit. 2 killed, and 1 critical. I held the mans hand waiting on the medivac thinking he would never make it with a huge hole in his chest, abdomen and head. Six months later i was eating chinese food with him at ft bragg. I'm praying tonight for the FO, his family, and the families of all involved. Keep hope alive

 

[AAsRedHeadedbro]

I was driving to the airport this morning when I heard this. My condolences to the families of all who were on this airplane. What a tradegy.

I think we will all remember these people every time we taxi to a runway. I know I will.

And yes, we should all be thinking along the lines of "there, but for the grace of God, go I" because it could conceivably happen to any of us. Hopefully it'll open our eyes a bit and cause all of us to be just that much more vigilant.

This is so darn sad...