Comair Flight 5191, a routine domestic jaunt from Lexington, Kentucky to Atlanta, Georgia, took an unexpected turn on August 27, 2006. The Bombardier CRJ100 met its fate during takeoff from the Blue Grass Airport in Fayette County, Kentucky. The crash ensued as our pilot pal carried on to Runway 26, a runway that turned out to be a path to Perdition. This runway, with its disreputable past of being both unlit and unauthorized for commercial flight, was the harbinger of this woe.
The Comair Flight 5191 accident became the darkest chapter in Kentucky's history, with 49 souls card-carrying members to the traveler's club. Those aboard ranged from a 16-year-old greenhorn to a worldly-wise 72-year-old, including Lexington citizens and a darling newlywed pair. The aircraft crashed into an earthen wall adjacent to a ditch during takeoff. The first officer, the hardy James Polehinke, miraculously made it out, but with injuries that turned him blue for a spell.
The sound of construction work at the airport ceased after the mishap. Three reports from the NTSB landed in January 2007. The National Transportation Safety Board weighed in, pinpointing pilot error as the smoking gun behind the crash.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Friendly Jane
Discuss this with the author and others
No comments yet. Be the first to start the conversation.