NTSB: Pilots rolled on despite unlit runway
POSTED: 9:30 a.m. EDT, August 29, 2006
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LEXINGTON, Kentucky (CNN) -- As Comair Flight 5191 sped down the runway before dawn Sunday, the pilots commented that the runway lights were off but continued with their takeoff, a preliminary investigation has revealed.
Twenty-nine seconds later the cockpit voice recorder stopped as the plane crashed in a patch of woods near Lexington's Blue Grass Airport, killing 49 of the 50 people on board, the National Transportation Safety Board's probe has found.
Co-pilot and sole survivor James Polehinke was flying the plane when it crashed, according to the NTSB's Debbie Hersman. NTSB investigators have not been able to interview Polehinke, who is in critical condition at a Lexington hospital, she said.
Investigators are trying to find out why Flight 5191 took off from a general aviation runway which was unlit and only 3,500 feet long, rather than the runway normally used for commercial flights, which was 7,000 feet long and lit. (
Watch what pilots may have seen -- 2:09)
Hersman said the manifest for the Canadair CRJ-100 jet showed its weight was 40,987 pounds -- requiring at least 3,539 feet of runway to get airborne.
Tire marks indicate that the plane's wheels crossed into the grass beyond the runway, and it became airborne after hitting an earthen berm, she said. The jet then clipped a perimeter fence and hit a stand of trees before crashing, Hersman said.
During the acceleration, the pilot and co-pilot noted that lights on the runway were not turned on, Hersman said. There were no indications Polehinke tried to stop the plane, she said.
The data recorder recovered from the crash site showed that plane reached a top speed of 137 knots, or about 158 mph, she said.
During the takeoff, there were no communications to the plane from the control tower, which, at the time, was staffed by a single air traffic controller, she said. Investigators planned to interview the controller Tuesday.
The airport's tower manager has told investigators that having a single controller on duty early on a Sunday morning was "not inconsistent with their staffing levels over the last 10 years" and met Federal Aviation Administration requirements, Hersman said.
The Comair flight, as well as two other commercial flights that took off without incident earlier Sunday morning, had all been cleared to use the lit commercial runway, not the smaller runway, she said. (
Map of airport layout)
An employee for another airline, who watched the Comair jet accelerate on the unlit runway and crash, told investigators the longer runway, and its taxiways, were illuminated, Hersman said.
However, only the lights along the sides of the commercial runway were lit on Sunday morning. Because of a repaving project, lights down the center of the runway were not operational -- but those were not required, Hersman said.
The lights on the smaller, general aviation runway at Blue Grass have not been operational for more than two years, and airport officials had alerted pilots in bulletins that the runway was to be used only in daylight, she said.
Did repaving project play a role?
One factor being explored by investigators is what role, if any, the repaving project may have played in the disaster. The commercial runway had been closed for three days last week to be repaved and have its markings repainted, Hersman said.
The airport's director told The Associated Press Monday the taxi route for commercial jets using Blue Grass Airport's main runway was altered a week before the crash.
Both the old and new taxiways cross over the shorter general aviation runway where the commuter jet tried to take off early Sunday, Blue Grass Airport Executive Director Michael Gobb told AP.
The runway repaving was completed August 20, Gobb said, according to AP. It wasn't clear if the pilots aboard Flight 5191 had been there since the work.
Monday night, investigators went out to the airport to try to determine what the pilots might have seen, or not seen, in the darkness that might have contributed to the crash, she said. (
Watch NTSB describe early findings -- 8:23)
Investigators probe crew's workload
Crash investigators have also obtained records that will shed light on the workload of the Comair pilots, including how much rest they had between their flights Saturday night and Sunday morning, Hersman said.
Comair president Don Bornhorst said Sunday that before the crash, the crew had been "on a legal rest period far beyond what is required."
Hersman said the NTSB investigation would look at the crew's training and experience, as well as how they had spent the previous 72 hours, and whether they got enough rest. She said toxicology tests were routine, to check for alcohol and drugs.
Comair Flight 5191 was en route from Lexington to Atlanta when it crashed. The plane was carrying 47 passengers and three crew members. (
Honeymooners among victims)
Comair has not released the names of the victims, other than the crew -- pilot Capt. Jeffrey Clay, co-pilot Polehinke and flight attendant Kelly Heyer.
