2006 — Aug 27, Comair Flight 5191 Takeoff Crash at Blue Grass AP, Lexington, KY — 49

— 49  Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Kentucky.

— 49  Badger, Stephen G. Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires for 2006 (NFPA No. MDS06).

— 49  Lacagnina, Mark. “Mistaken Identity.” AeroSafety World, Nov 2007, pp. 38-43.

— 49  NTSB. Attempted Takeoff From Wrong Runway Comair Flight 5191…Lexington, KY.

— 49  Werfelman, Linda. “Shape Up.” AeroSafety World, June 2011.

 

Narrative Information

 

Badger/NFPA:  “For the second year in a row, the largest loss of life in a multiple-death fire occurred in a vehicle fire. In 2006, 24 aircraft passengers died of burns or smoke inhalation following an aircraft crash in Kentucky….

 

“In August 2006, an early morning flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia, was preparing for takeoff. The aircraft, a 54-seat, two-engine turbo jet with 3 crew members and 47 passengers on board was cleared to take off on one runway, but instead taxied onto another runway, which was approximately 3,500 feet (1,067 meters) shorter. The aircraft attempted to take off, but was still on the ground when it reached the end of the runway, and crashed into a fence and trees.

 

“The shattered aircraft came to rest in a field about 1,800 feet (549 meters) from the end of the runway and caught fire. The first-arriving emergency responders were able to assist the co­pilot from a window and to safety. He was in critical condition, but has survived. The other 2 crew members and all the passengers perished. Twenty-four deaths were fire-related. Ten died of thermal injuries, and 14 died of smoke and products of combustion inhalation. The remaining 25 died of multiple blunt force trauma.

 

“After the aircraft was cleared for takeoff, the air traffic controller, who was working alone, turned around to perform other duties. He heard a noise, saw a fire, and notified the fire department of the emergency within seconds on the tower crash phone. A complete report of this incident is available from the National Transportation Safety Board.

 

“This incident was just 1 of 36 catastrophic multiple-death fires in 2006 that killed 223 people, 6 of whom were firefighters and 28 children under the age of 6. This is in contrast to 2005, when there were 20 such fires that killed 134 people, 23 of whom were children under age 6. A “catastrophic multiple-death fire” is one that kills 5 or more people in residential properties or kills 3 or more people in nonresidential and nonstructural properties.”  (Badger, Stephen G. Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires for 2006 (NFPA No. MDS06). Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division, Sep 2007.)

 

NTSB: “On August 27, 2006, about 0606:35 eastern daylight time, Comair flight 5191, a Bombardier CL-600-2B19, N431CA, crashed during takeoff from Blue Grass Airport, Lexington, Kentucky. The flight crew was instructed to take off from runway 22 but instead lined up the airplane on runway 26 and began the takeoff roll. The airplane ran off the end of the runway and impacted the airport perimeter fence, trees, and terrain. The captain, flight attendant, and 47 passengers were killed, and the first officer received serious injuries. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire.  The flight was…en route to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia.”

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the flight crewmembers’ failure to use available cues and aids to identify the airplane’s location on the airport surface during taxi and their failure to cross-check and verify that the airplane was on the correct runway before takeoff. Contributing to the accident were the flight crew’s nonpertinent conversation during taxi, which resulted in a loss of positional awareness, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) failure to require that all runway crossings be authorized only by specific air traffic control (ATC) clearances.” (NTSB. Aircraft Accident Report. Attempted Takeoff…Wrong Runway Comair Flight 5191…Aug 27, 2006. 6-26-2007.)

 

Werfelman:  “Controller Judgment
“The Aug. 27, 2006, crash of a Comair Bombardier CRJ100 during takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S., resulted in issuance of a recommendation dealing with job performance by air traffic controllers.[1] The crash followed the flight crew’s attempt to take off from 3,500-ft (1,068-m) Runway 26, which they had mistaken for their assigned Runway 22, which was twice as long. All but one of the 50 people in the airplane were killed, and the survivor suffered serious injuries in the crash, which destroyed the airplane.

 

“The NTSB said the probable cause was the crewmembers’ “failure to use available cues and aids to identify the airplane’s location on the airport surface during taxi and their failure to cross-check and verify that the airplane was on the correct runway before takeoff.”

 

“In the safety recommendation, the NTSB noted that the lone controller in the airport traffic control tower had issued a takeoff clearance and then, instead of monitoring the takeoff and departure, turned to an administrative task.  The NTSB said that its investigations of several events involving air traffic controllers “highlight a safety issue related to controller vigilance, judgment and safety awareness that should be addressed.”

 

“The accompanying safety recommendation called on the FAA to “require all air traffic controllers to complete instructor-led initial and recurrent training in resource management skills that will improve controller judgment, vigilance and safety awareness”.” (Werfelman, Linda.  “Shape Up.” AeroSafety World, June 2011.)

 

Sources

 

Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Kentucky. Accessed 3-9-2009 at:  http://www.baaa-acro.com/Pays/Etats-Unis/Kentucky.htm

 

 

Badger, Stephen G. Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires for 2006 (NFPA No. MDS06). Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division, Sep 2007. Accessed 7-8-2013: http://www.nfpa.org/~/media/files/research/nfpa%20reports/overall%20fire%20statistics/catastrophic2006.ashx

 

Lacagnina, Mark. “Mistaken Identity.” AeroSafety World, Nov 2007, pp. 38-43. Accessed at:  http://flightsafety.org/asw/nov07/asw_nov07_p38-43.pdf

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Attempted Takeoff From Wrong Runway Comair Flight 5191 Bombardier CL-600-2B19, N431CA Lexington, Kentucky, August 27, 2006. Washington, DC: NTSB, July 26, 2007, 174 pages. Accessed at:  http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2007/AAR0705.pdf

 

Werfelman, Linda. “Shape Up.” AeroSafety World, June 2011. Accessed at:  http://flightsafety.org/aerosafety-world-magazine/june-2011/shape-up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] References:  Mark Lacagnina.  “Mistaken Identity.” AeroSafety World, Nov 2007, pp. 38-43.