Comair sues FAA, Lexington airport

[capt. megadeth]

That being said, its pretty sad when people want to go on a public forum and shoot their mouths off, when the NTSB hasn't even finished their work.

What's really sad is that when a family member has an untimely passing, people (lawyers and families) get rich off of it. I got an idea....if you are worried that the bread winner in your family might die, don't rely on lawsuits to get you through.....get your own career as a back up (or life insurance). It's pathetic really.

 

[TheBaron]

Baron, are you always this pompous about things that you (obvioiusly) know nothing about (law)? Why don't you explain the finer points of open heart surgery or the fuel injection system of an F1 car? I'm sure we would all like to hear your thoughts.

Are you saying I don't know that the crew lined up on the wrong runway? Pretty indisputable fact. Can't help you on the open heart surgery or the fuel injection on an F1 car. I did find this one little regulation that might help you out though. It's kinda' like a law. (kinda' like means similar)

Title 14: Aeronautics and Space
PART 91—GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES
Subpart A—General

§ 91.3 Responsibility and authority of the pilot in command.

(a) The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.


So, the airport has issues. A lot of airports have issues. Why do you view this as some personal attack when it isn't? People screw up, they make mistakes. It happens all the time. This time it was tragic. Are there mitigating factors? Sure. But the crew is still, in the end, the one that lined up on the wrong runway and didn't catch their mistake.

 

[400pilot]

The taxiway changes were AFTER you crossed 26 taxing out, not before. The construction and the taxiway changes are completely irrelevent. Besides, it was NOTAMed.

 

[TheBaron]

No, I'm not an attorney, but I know many people involved in this mess (including one who was killed) and I can tell you its not as simple as you seem to think it is.



So when did you go to work for the NTSB Baron?

This airport has some serious skeletons in the closet, and I'm glad the attorneys for Comair are going to lay the wood to them.

Sorry to hear you lost a friend. I have lost way too many friends and coworkers over the years in aviation accidents. Afterwards, I always felt somewhat cheated when the NTSB would lay the bulk of the responsibility for the accidents at the feet of people that I knew to be capable pilots. But sometimes you have to face the facts.
It really is that simple. The crew lined up on the wrong runway. No one else magically put them there. No one painted a big 22 on the runway or gave it precision markings. There is no weird magnetic field at the threshold that interferes with the compass. It was a simple, tragic mistake.

And FWIW, I worked with (not for) the NTSB on two accident investigations.
A great learning experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone.

 

[FN FAL]

What's really sad is that when a family member has an untimely passing, people (lawyers and families) get rich off of it. I got an idea....if you are worried that the bread winner in your family might die, don't rely on lawsuits to get you through.....get your own career as a back up (or life insurance). It's pathetic really.

The night you make your first speech as president, I'm going drunk driving on a mission...to see how many mini-vans with baby on board stickers I can P.I.T. manuver into rolling. Lawsuit reform, bring it on!

 

[capt. megadeth]

The night you make your first speech as president, I'm going drunk driving on a mission...to see how many mini-vans with baby on board stickers I can P.I.T. manuver into rolling. Lawsuit reform, bring it on!

I'd say that's a little extreme but these days, the drunk driver would sue the mini-van driver and friggin win a couple million....

"The mini-van was in my way your honor"

 

[fried chickens]

I wonder if Comair is using the same lawyers from the Pinnacle crash?

 

[FN FAL]

I'd say that's a little extreme but these days, the drunk driver would sue the mini-van driver and friggin win a couple million....

"The mini-van was in my way your honor"

While it does seem that civil cases end in lottery sized winnings to the those who filed cases and won, I think that if you had the statistics on what people actually received in all civil cases, it might be surprisingly lower than what you think.

If someone suffers a loss at the actions of another, the only way you can argue the facts surrounding such a loss, is in civil court...the criminal courts are not the place for such an argument.

In addition, since government printed money is the legal tender in this country, it would be pretty extreme that a husband that lost a wife in a car accident of someone else's fault be made to accept one of the defendant's daughters or wife in exchange for the loss...regardless of how comely they may be.

The intent of civil courts was to keep society civilized. Without them, a person would only have personal vengeance to turn to. While it would be interesting to read about multiple daily shotgun massacres in the newspapers, most people would agree that would not be the most civilized method for airing grievances with other people.

In addition, with a civil trial, you have the two adversaries presenting their side of the story in front of an impartial finder of fact and a jury. Believe me, juries are typically persons who think people "just sue for money"...so it isn't the free ride on the money train you might think it is.

 

[igneousy2]

Are you saying I don't know that the crew lined up on the wrong runway? Pretty indisputable fact. Can't help you on the open heart surgery or the fuel injection on an F1 car. I did find this one little regulation that might help you out though. It's kinda' like a law. (kinda' like means similar)

Title 14: Aeronautics and Space
PART 91—GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES
Subpart A—General

§ 91.3 Responsibility and authority of the pilot in command.

(a) The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.


So, the airport has issues. A lot of airports have issues. Why do you view this as some personal attack when it isn't? People screw up, they make mistakes. It happens all the time. This time it was tragic. Are there mitigating factors? Sure. But the crew is still, in the end, the one that lined up on the wrong runway and didn't catch their mistake.

What are you like 80 years old? The United States and parts of the rest of the world realized somewhere around 1970 that you can't merely blame the pilot because it's the easy thing to do. You can ALWAYS logically blame the pilots in some way in every accident because the Captain is ALWAYS responsible, if everyone had your attitude we would still be killing people by the hundreds every year.

Later,

 

[Jonny Sacko]

accident of someone else's fault be made to accept one of the defendant's daughters or wife in exchange for the loss...regardless of how comely they may be..

Now we're talking, I'm going driving, anyone want to come along. I'm headed to a local college!!!! HOT BLOND CHICKS

 

[SKYMASTER]

I am incredibly surprised by the reaction of this thread.

As mentioned earlier, of course the captain is responsible. Everyone knows that. On the other hand, it generally takes more than one factor to have an accident.

I agree 100% with the lawsuit against the FAA and the airport. Sometimes a lawsuit is one of the only tools we can use to change a beauracratic outfit like the FAA. Once again the captain was in command and responsible, but you better believe that airport management and the FAA shared responsibility in this.

It doesn't take a genius to know that you don't need a final report to determine this. Common sense will tell us that there should have been two controllers. Even the FAA has already admitted this. The same goes for airport signage and advisories, among many other factors.

 

[Blade Runner]

COMAIR might have a case if they can prove neglegence on the part of the County for improper signage and any confusing NOTAMs concerning Taxiway changes. The Jury will not be made up of aviation professionals but people who know little about our industry.

 

[TheBaron]

What are you like 80 years old? The United States and parts of the rest of the world realized somewhere around 1970 that you can't merely blame the pilot because it's the easy thing to do. You can ALWAYS logically blame the pilots in some way in every accident because the Captain is ALWAYS responsible, if everyone had your attitude we would still be killing people by the hundreds every year.

Later,

What are you, like 2 years old. Where did I say the flight crew is responsible for every accident. There are still accidents caused by catastrophic mechanical failures, weather, and other unforeseeable events. This wasn't the case in Lexington.

 

[Dizel8]

How long was those taxiways changes underway? Did Comair stop flying into the airport at night when these were taking place?

No other crew made this mistake, or if they did, they caught it, this crew did not and people died. It has been a while since I have been into LEX, but from what I have read, the two runways are still remarkably different in appearance, even at night.

Yes, there were only one controller, yet most of us currently operate or have operated at airports where there are no controllers. Who do we blame then if there was a mishap, the airport manager, his dog?

Yes, perhaps there are issues with signage, or markings or whatever, they might all be included into the lawsuit, but the biggest issue here, is the two pilots, that for whatever reason, tried to take off from a runway that was too short.

 

[spotterpilot]

I cant believe that that there are professional pilots who really believe that there is anyone other than the PIC /SIC to blame for this tragic accident. This accident didnt happen because there was only 1 controller/construction ect...