Posted on 08/27/2006 4:38:10 AM PDT by BigBlueJon
Edited on 08/27/2006 5:02:21 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Possible plane crash in Lexington, KY. My brother works security for Lexington UK Hospital and was just called in. No news locally or on major news outlets yet. I didn't want to post anything for fear of being wrong, but he's still waiting for an official call while on stand-by.
Update from WTVQ 36 Lexington:
A plane has crashed near the Blue Grass Airport this morning. No word on details at this time. We are told it was a commercial aircraft. Versailles Road is blocked as emergency vehicles circle around the site. We have live coverage beginning at 7:20am. Stay with Action News 36 for more details.
Runway 826 is the short one - Fox said it is the short one.
The briefing just over described the crash near the end of the 8/26(i.e. the short one) runway. They did caution that the aircraft could have ended up from either runway. The CDR will indicate decisively what direction the a/c was heading when it throttled up. More information at the 5pm briefing.
The pilot goofed. And maybe the controller sent him to the wrong RW. But even if so, pilot should have refused the clearance.
In addition to being on a badly cracked concrete runway (8/26) instead of a grooved asphalt surface like (4/22).
I think there is something more to this.
Nah. Sounds like a case of "lets-get-going-" itis ...
I'm in Atlanta and all the local news channels are reporting without commercial interuption.
Everyone is waiting for the manifest to be released to see how many Georgians were on the plane.
The balance and the weight are separate issues. However if the plane were loaded tail heavy it would tend to fly nose high, and might be so much so that it would stall. Not likely, but theoretically possible I suppose.
1/2 mile from the end of the runway indicates that there wasn't much climbing out done.
"thirty-five romeo" and "thirty-five lima" aren't similar.
But then LEX doesn't have parallel runways, so that doesn't seem to be a factor today.
In this case, the noise of the aircraft crashing was followed by ignition of the fuel and subsequent flash of light. Two separate events. Perfectly reasonable.
The pilot goofed? Are you a pilot? Accident investigator?
Or just a goof ball sitting at home making a guess?
Maybe they tried a desperate attempt to turn back to the airport and land. Wouldn't the shorter runway be the closest? I am a 20 year ATP and I KNOW what I am talking about.
Because we have a 10,600 foot long runway (7/25) that they use instead. It's only when the wind is very strong out of the north or south that we make 16 or 34 the active runway.
Now, that 5599 feet is enough for those planes to use with no problems, but they very much prefer the extra mile afforded by runway 7/25...so skittish may have been the wrong word, but nonetheless CRJ drivers prefer long runways, and I just don't see any scenario where pilot and controller would willingly choose a 3400 foot runway for takeoff.
That's why I believe the plane departed the much longer runway 22 at LEX, had a problem and turned sharply right toward the far end of runway 26.
As for TOL's shorter runway, plans are to lengthen it around 2000 feet or so, but the $$$ isn't there yet.
Hope this works. Had it but lost it
Surviving First Officer's name is James Polhinkie (spelling?)
Thank you, this is why FR is the BEST!
Great Post - And another success story for FREEP.
This is how information must be diseminated in the future.
But how to guarantee this system in case the poop really hits the fan?
6:05 A.M. Was the sun in their eyes? Was it still dark?
Thanks....I'm posting articles as we go here.
This is from the Lexington Herald.
Farm owner: Plane “used wrong runway”
By Jennifer Hewlett
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
The owner of the farm where Flight 5191 crashed said the plane “obviously … used the wrong runway."
Nick Bentley said the plane must have used the airport's shorter runway, which is about 3,400 feet. The main runway is 7,000 feet
He said the plane hit an 8-foot fence between his property and the airport, and clipped several trees.
The smaller runway is for use by small aircraft, not commercial planes.
Bentley said he did not go the crash site, but he can see the fence from other locations on his land.
“He just got disoriented for whatever reason,” Bentley said of the pilot.
He said the crash location is a “straight line” from the start of the smaller runway to where the airplane landed on his farm. He said a friend called him at 6:20 a.m. and told him a plane had crashed on his property.
Bentley and his wife said no structures or horses on the farm were hit. He said the farm had some horses on it but was otherwise undeveloped.
It's more correct to say that the incremental cost of filling those 10 seats is much less than than the average cost per passenger. But it does cost just a little more to fill those seats. Extra fuel burned, not much but some. Extra drinks and peanuts or whatever. Again a trivial amount, but some.
Another article:
Family member complains about Comair, city's response
By Ryan Alessi
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
A family member of one of the victims in the crash of flight 5191 said Comair and city officials poorly handled families who were sent to the Campbell House for a briefing.
Rick Queen of Lexington said as he was leaving shortly before 12 p.m. that he was very upset with the impersonal and brief nature of Comair and the city of Lexington’s response. Queen’s father-in-law, Les Morris, was on the flight.
“They just brought us all into a room like a herd of cattle,” he said.
A Comair official stood up and told them there had been no survivors and gave a 1-800 number to call. That was it, Queen said.
"I’m in shock being a resident of Lexington that they’ve handled it this way.” Queen said. "There are 48 grieving families in here and we know no information.
"They’ve reopened the airport and we understand the accident scene is still on the ground."
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