Commercial plane crashes at Blue Grass Airport in Kentucky

CNN is describing it as "Medium sized", and it crashed near Lexington, Kentucky.

No web story yet. Will update.

<update>

BREAKING NEWS: Plane Crashes in Lexington

BY:Jon Sasser
Aug 27, 07:11 AM EDT

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.


http://www.wtvq.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WTVQ/MGArticle/TVQ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190236018&path=

http://www.wtvq.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WTVQ/MGArticle/TVQ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190236018&path=

Lexington
BY:Jon Sasser
Aug 27, 07:11 AM EDT


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.

:sarcasm:

I sure repukes are hoping so anyway.

They'll find a way to spin it to their favor. They always do. This is just another opportunity for Rove to spout his talking points.

Said is was a commuter plane with about 50 people on board, crashed in a wooded area shortly after take-off.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/08/27/plane_crash.html

WTVQ in Lexington said they are getting reports that a Delta plane took off from the Blue Grass Airport and then crashed in a field nearby.

Lexington Police also tell 9News the coroner is on the scene, but they are not confirming any casualties.

Police say the Delta plane was carrying approximately 50 passengers.

<edit> corrected station name from WTVQ to WCPO. My bad...

Planes only crash because terrorists bring their beverages on board.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

People do it to survive terrible times, not to make fun of the dead.

Snarky comments made on the internet do not strike me as a survival mechanism. I would rather provide that luxury to those on the ground who have to deal with this tragedy an its aftermath.

News load this morning. Plane crash, tornados and the journalists relaesed.
Gonna be a hell of a day.
:dem:

Only one person transported to the hospital. Sounds bad.

I am flying on the exact type plane tomorrow afternoon from a nearby airport. This has been one of the safest planes ever made. There was some weather in the area but nothing very severe.

So sad.

No doubt, unlike 9/11, there will be a thorough FAA investigation.

is well maintained and well managed. It appears it was pilot error.

dumbed-down low-cost ill-paid little-respected pissed-off pilot (ed: and/or airport traffic controllers).

Of course, it could have been an "honest" corporate accident, all other factors being equal, as we say.

(Sorry, again: I know nothing in this case. But I am a quite frequent eyes-open (European) flyer).

The pilot made a mistake. His jet was filled to capacity with passengers and fuel. The runway he took was about 4,000 ft shorter than the one he was supposed to take. A collapsing cell of rain was approaching the runway, right in his path. His wheels were still down when he clipped the trees at the end of the runway. When the plane hit the ground it burst into flames.

From what the people on the scene have been saying, it was pilot error.


Two things: The crew just finished some time off and was rested. The plane just finished scheduled maintenance.


shit happens

There is a 7,000 ft runway that the plane should have taken off on. There is also a shorter 3,500 ft runway normally used by small private planes. The crash location is just off this shorter runway. Of course the local news stations are being very careful on their speculation.

The plane is apparently intact but caught fire. One survivor has been taken to a local hospital in critical condition.

It was almost full. There are also reports it clip some trees before it went down. How tragic and unnecessary. I fly Comair a lot and sometimes I wonder about the training, age, and workload for these pilots.

A fully loaded jet aircraft needs more than 3500 feet to get up to flying speed.

Human error.

PFU = Pilot Fucked Up?

If so, despite being an incorrigable tin-hatter, I agree with you.

And kudos to the DUers who can unravel something like this so quickly.

:toast:

...kudos to the DUers who can unravel something like this so quickly.

With so many of us representing so many walks of life, we're ALL potential experts--there doesn't seem to be a question that some DU-er can't answer!

But enough of that clinking--let's do some drinking!

:beer: :beer:
rocknation

I would think the ATC would have noted it and advised the pilot he was on the wrong runway.

that it could have been possible that the flight received takeoff clearance before they were even lined up with the runway.

before even starting to taxi away from the terminal. If there's no traffic, it is perfectly legal
and acceptable.

My heart goes out the the families and friends of the victims of this crash.

The pilot took the first left instead of the second left. That put him on a 3,000ft runway, much too short for this aircraft. The plane clipped some trees at the end of the strip, crashed intact. What probably killed the people was the fire.

One person survived, a pilot or co pilot.


We heard the sirens responding to the crash.

She was holding out hope that her relative was not on the plane because the itinerary said "Delta" instead of "Comair". How tragic.

It's been four years since our last bad crash.

The pilot must have been unfamiliar with that airport.

the ATC officers were also culpable, not noticing that the plane was taking off on the wrong runway.

But if they cleared the plane to the wrong runway that's a different story but in any case
the pilot in command is responsible.

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

I heard on MSNBC there was only one ATC in the tower at the time of the accident.

I guess the big question is how the pilot could've mistaken 4/22 for 8/26. Besides the obvious markings differences, according to the AFD for LEX at airnav.com, the MIRL on 4/22 is INOP indefinitely, and sunrise was at 7:02 am, an hr after the accident took place.:shrug:

how such a huge bungle could be made. I've never seen a checklist that didn't call for runway
heading verification before rolling such as setting the DG or whatever the CRJ uses. I actually
-landed- on the wrong rwy at CMH at 2 in the morning once, was half asleep & not paying attention.
My bad but there were 2 or 3 runways lighted and plenty long. After I landed the tower razzed me
about it but no problem actually.

Its a beautiful place...gently rolling hills, sprawling horse farms. Such a tradgedy.

than bigger craft. I try to avoid them when I can, but sometimes they're the only thing available on a given leg of a flight, especially at a certain time of day.

47 passengers, 3 crew, 1 known survivor...jeez. :-(

a bit leery on puddle-jumpers as well and try to avoid them when I can. They're more nerve-racking than bigger planes because you feel the movements a lot more, and the engine is so much louder.


What a horrible tragedy, those poor people. They must have known what was happening, too, how terrified they must have been.

They've started to replace a lot of the prop plane with these newer smaller jets like the CRJs...they're somewhat better, but I guess they're still not as safe as they need to be.

http://news.delta.com/

Comair Flight 5191 Advisory #2
Issued 8-27-06, 9:20 a.m.


Comair to Conduct Media Briefing at 10 a.m. on Flight 5191

CINCINNATI -- Comair will conduct a media briefing at 10 a.m. EDT today regarding Comair Flight 5191 at the Airport Holiday Inn at 1717 Airport Exchange Blvd. in Cincinnati. A Comair Bombardier CRJ100 regional jet en route from Lexington Blue Grass Airport to Atlanta was involved in an accident near the Lexington airport about 6 a.m. today.

Just because an airplane weighs 400,000 pounds vs. 50,000 pounds doesn't make it any safer. Considering that the jet that crashed has a range of 1500 miles, what type of puddle would they be jumping?

Your safety is not dependent on the size of the aircraft, nor whether it has props or turbofans, nor whether you're traveling 100 or 1000 miles. Contrary to popular opinion, these machines DO NOT fly themselves. When the shit hits the fan the autopilot turns itself OFF. Your safety as a passenger is entirely dependent on my skill level and experience as a pilot, PERIOD.

Unfortunately, we can look forward to more of these types of accidents. Simply due to the raping of the airline industry, pilots career earnings are down between 50-60%. Older, more experienced pilots are quitting and taking new jobs, and newer pilots are 70 - 80% less experienced than even 10 years ago.

The pilots lined up on the wrong runway. The tower controller, though not responsible, usually would catch their error but didn't. The pilots made a mistake and killed a lot of people. Such is my job. Tragic.

:eyes:

... which got Lindbergh across the Atlantic in 1927 (Yes, I know he was not the first to cross)

I was under the impression that 50 seaters were more safe than 200+ seaters because if going down they have a better crash landing ability. either way, horrible way to die and my thoughts go to the families.

just as the plane took off. He said the storm was collapsing at the time. There was some down drafts associated with this rain. Though it may not be the cause, it could have "complicated" the take off.

The accident occurred at CVG, Greater Cincinnati International Airport, Lexington, KY.

The state capital.

edit:

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/KLEX

The state capital is Frankfort. Lexington is home of the University of Kentucky. I would guess there is a likelihood of someone from UK either on the plane or having relatives on the plane.

I can't believe I wrote that...one of my very old favorite gags has been for decades is to ask
somebody "How do you pronounce the capital of Kentucky, 'loo-iss-vill' or 'loo-ee-vill' ?"

:spank: :banghead:

Gotta jumpstart my brain this morning. I just got up before I posted. Turned on the TV and somehow thought this occurred at Greater Cincinnati International in Boone County, KY. :dunce:

BTW, there is a small airport..Blue ASH..in Cincinnati area.

Thanks, Karl, for the correction.


edit> to add "KY" after Boone County, for those not familiar with this area of the country.

In 1792 Lexington was named the first capital of Kentucky, which lasted about a year, before moving to Frankfort.

grrr

was a news model from one of the fear-mongering M$M outlets screeching the question, "Oh, but in this day and age WE MUST ASK, Could it have been TERRORISM? Squawk! Squawk! Terra! Terra! Well, could it have been TERRORISM? Squawk! Squawk!" :puke:

The corporate M$M is shameless in their attempted spreading of FEAR and TERROR. :(

Not even Fox cable.

it was MENTIONED, and mentioned again and again. ;)

The US still the safest country to fly in throughout the world, but still, this is not easy to take. At least the accident rate is down significantly from the 80's and early 90's.

I am interested to get more info. I think that the NTSB report is going to show some interesting things. And the 1st Officer survived. That is a huge blessing for safety. Now, we can find out exactly what happened on the flight deck and not rely on the CVR. Whatever alignment of errors and failures happened to cause this crash, it won't happen again, especially with the 1st Officer's personal testimony. (But, I hope for his sake that there aren't multiple attributable errors to the flight crew.)

with your very sane, rational post....

If this is like most accidents, there is a chain of events that culminated in the crash, not just one, big, catastrophic blunder.... :hi:

only that he was in surgery.

There's a lot more fatal car accidents than fatal airplane crashes, but just one fatal airplane crash = a whole bunch of fatal car accidents.

http://sadlyno.com/archives/002846.html

Just How Stupid Are NewsMax Readers?
Very stupid, if they believe crap like this
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/5/29/132706.shtml?s=ic

Despite media coverage purporting to show that escalating violence in Iraq has the country
spiraling out of control, civilian death statistics complied by Rep. Steve King, R-IA,
indicate that Iraq actually has a lower civilian violent death rate than Washington, D.C.

Note how he’s comparing the city of Washington D.C. to the entire country of Iraq.
Not Baghdad, not Tikrit, not Fallujah, but the entire fucking country of Iraq.

I think this handy-dandy diagram capably illustrates King’s methodology:


sort of,
“oh gee, that violence looks terrible but gosh darn it, it ain’t THAT bad…”, thinking.
:shrug:

More :donut: :hide:

You can see the whole story. A short runway. The trees that the plane clipped. The crash and debris area.

Tragic.

From Yahoo News:

Did it hit a nuclear-hardened building and vaporize?

Its hard to see because it was very heavily damaged by fire, I think much of what remains is charred.

...

And this plane didn't even hit the ground anywhere near 400+ mph.

Guess I better quit now though...
:eyes:

They did it to prove that a plane full of fuel would incinerate itself. </sarcasm>

I lost 2 members of my family in an airline crash. My heart is so heavy today because I know exactly what these families are going through and what they will continue to go through long after the story is no longer news. The intrusive media members with their cameras at the funerals and phone calls asking for interviews about the loved ones is still fresh in my mind. As are the huge number of letters and calls from lawyers which came within days of the crash, offering to help us sue.

If you know or meet one of these grieving families, please tell them that you are so sorry. If you pray, tell them that you'll pray for them. It helps.

Please do NOT say things like: "they are in a better place", or in the case of a couple "at least they died together", "Thank God they didn't have children",or anything of the sort. Don't talk about how flying is the safest form of transportation or ask them specific details about the crash or how their loved ones died. All of those things were said to us, usually with the best intentions. But it doesn't help and can make them feel worse.

Just be sincerely sorry.

Thank you for the great advice from someone who has gone through this.

.. :hug: :hug: :hug:

in July- thankfully our flights were uneventful, but I don't really like planes that small. Not too many options when you're going to COlumbia, South Carolina, though. Very sad. My sympathies to the families of those lost.

... were married the night before the crash. To me that is a very sad thing for the families of the bride and groom.

Ex-Wildcat, wife die in crash of commuter jet night after their wedding

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14543793/
Updated: 5:00 p.m. ET Aug 27, 2006

A former Kentucky baseball player who played in the minor leagues was among
the 49 people killed when a commuter jet crashed during take off Sunday at
Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky.



Jon Hooker and Scarlett Parsley were on the Atlanta-bound flight, heading
to their honeymoon in California after they were married Saturday night at
Headley-Whitley Museum, former Kentucky baseball coach Keith Madison said.

“It’s so tragic because he was so happy last night,” said Madison,
who was at the wedding attended by about 300 friends and family.
“It’s just an incredible turn of events. It’s really painful.”

more.....