News > Special Reports > The crash of Comair Flight 5191

The crash of Comair Flight 5191

Stories: Sept. 2-21, 2006 | Stories: Sept. 22, 2006-2007 | THE INVESTIGATION | Tribute to the victims

Blue Grass Airport director Michael Gobb at the airport on Aug. 31, 2006. DAVID STEPHENSON | STAFF

After a peaceful morning explodes into tragedy ...

EARLY ON SUNDAY, AUG. 27, 2006, Comair Flight 5191 took off from the wrong runway at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, crashing into trees and killing 49 of the 50 people on board. Many of the passengers were Central Kentuckians. Here you will find the Herald-Leader's coverage of the crash and its aftermath, along with the stories of the victims and the lone survivor.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

AUG. 28, 2006: THE DAY AFTER THE DISASTER

CHARLES BERTRAM | STAFF

CRASH KILLS 49

'WE ARE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THE VICTIMS'

An hour before sunrise in clearing weather, Comair Flight 5191, bound for Atlanta with 50 souls aboard, ran out of runway. After less than a minute aloft, it fell a mile west of the airport, casting 50,000 pounds of debris and jet fuel about as it burned mercilessly to a halt.

Pilot used the wrong runway

By Jim Warren, Beth Musgrave and Brandon Ortiz

Federal authorities confirmed last night that preliminary information from a downed Comair jet showed the pilot took off from the wrong runway, causing the plane to crash near Blue Grass Airport yesterday.

Spoof left LEX 18 manager horrified

By Jamie Gumbrecht

LEX 18 News ended an evening recap of yesterday's coverage of the Comair Flight 5191 crash for the live broadcast of the prime-time Emmy Awards. The annual TV awards show opened with shots of host Conan O'Brien bouncing inside a plane before it crashed on an island in a spoof of ABC's hit show Lost.

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PHOTOS AND VIDEO

AUDIO

NTSB briefings, emergency workers' radio traffic

DOCUMENTS FROM THE NTSB INVESTIGATION (PDFs)

AUG. 29, 2006

PILOTS NOTICED LACK
OF RUNWAY LIGHTS

By Jim Warren, Ryan Alessi and Brandon Ortiz

The pilots of Comair Flight 5191 noticed there were no lights on the runway they were using, but from all indications they never tried to stop. The flight crew received no communication from the control tower as they headed down Runway 26, which was not the runway they should have been using.

Photo by KEVIN WOLF | ASSOCIATED PRESS

• Captain was well-rested, wife says

• Witness: Plane bounced, clipped trees

• Coroner says most were killed by impact

• Survivor in coma; called 'a fighter'

• NTSB 'go team' collects evidence, will spend months analyzing

First responders kept their poise

By Amy Wilson and Cassondra Kirby

Within eight minutes of the Sunday morning crash that killed 49, firefighters were pouring water over the plane. Three police officers were somehow maneuvering First Officer James Polehinke out of the cockpit.

• Weatherman Shuck's aviation expertise brings depth to coverage

• D.C. veteran becomes NTSB's public face

• At hotel, volunteers work to help crash victims' friends, families

Schools are hit hard

By Raviya H. Ismail

Because most of the 50 people aboard Flight 5191 were Lexington residents, about five Fayette County public schools were directly affected by the crash.

• Governor visits crash site, reassures travelers

• OPINION: Harsh blow reminds us of death's randomness

AUG. 30, 2006

Tower should have had 2 controllers

FAA acknowledges it broke its own rules

By Brandon Ortiz

The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged yesterday that it violated its own rule by having only one air-traffic controller, rather than two, monitoring the Blue Grass Airport on Sunday.

• Experts are baffled that so many built-in safeguards were overlooked

• First officer emerges from induced coma but is still in critical condition

• Airport opens a memorial site

• Pilots had flown out of Blue Grass several times

• Scorched earth, the smell of jet fuel: Impressions from the first journalists at the site

• Airport plan calls for moving Runway 26

• Coroner did his duty knowing his sister was on the plane

• Aviation law experts weigh in on potential lawsuits

• Identification packets assembled for 30 crash victims

• Prayers for the fallen: Friends and family attend service for victims

• Comair president has lived and breathed the company for years

AUG. 31, 2006

Day of mourning: Families visit crash site

By Ryan Alessi, Mary Meehan and Jim Warren

Emotions that had been building in Lexington poured out through personal messages and signs of comfort for victims' families.

Staff members of Southland Christian Church stood along Versailles Road. CHARLES BERTRAM | STAFF

• Going online to express grief: Blogging helps brother of victim

• Prayer service draws connections from far and wide

• Most of bodies have been identified

• Controller had two hours of sleep before shift

• Tower rules have long been ignored

• Newspaper removes law firms' solicitations

• Comair withholds 6 names from list

SEPT. 1, 2006

'A message of hope'

Service held for family members

By Jim Warren

Five hundred to 600 family members attended. "Some are still very emotional, some are struggling to contain their emotions," said Amber Youngblood of the Red Cross. "It has been a horrific week for them, and we simply hope that this will be a step in their healing process."

Sarah King Fortney, holding 16-month-old Calvin James Fortney, left the private memorial service. Fortney's husband, Clarence Wayne "C.W." Fortney II of Lexington, died in the crash. ED REINKE | ASSOCIATED PRESS