I've flown these commuter flights a lot. They usually fly them to get people to major hubs like Atlanta or for short flights like from New Orleans to Orlando. I've always been a bit afraid when flying on these things.

 

(CNN) -- There are "multiple fatalities" after a 50-seat Delta commuter flight, en route from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport, crashed Sunday morning near Kentucky's Blue Grass Airport, airlines and airport officials told CNN.

 

Federal Aviation Administration officials said Delta Flight 5191 -- which was operated by Delta's commuter carrier, Comair -- crashed shortly after takeoff in a wooded area about a mile from the airport.

 

At least 50 people were aboard the flight and it is not known if there were any survivors, the officials said.

 

The crash happened around 7 a.m. ET, the officials said.

 

Delta Flight 5191 was scheduled to land at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport at 7:18 a.m.

 

The aircraft was a Bombardier Canadian Regional Jet (CRJ) 100, FAA officials said.

 

CNN's Mike Ahlers contributed to this report.

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/27/plane.crash/index.html

Wow apparently one survivor, but that person is in critical condition...

 

Scary stuff though...just flew on that type of plane the other day.

 

Past couple days have been ridiculous for aviation...kid bring dynamite and like 5 other flights getting diverted. This doesn't sound like terrorism though

Another source:

 

49 die in Comair crash in Lexington, Ky.

 

By JEFFREY McMURRAY, Associated Press Writer 1 minute ago

 

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A commuter jet taking off for Atlanta crashed just past the runway and burst into flames, killing 49 people before dawn Sunday and leaving the lone survivor in critical condition.

 

Comair Flight 5191, a CRJ-200 regional jet, crashed at 6:07 a.m., said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the

Federal Aviation Administration.

 

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the plane to crash in a field just beyond Lexington's Blue Grass Airport. The plane was largely intact, and authorities said rescuers were able to get one of the three crew members out alive, but the county coroner described a devastating fire following the impact.

 

"They were taking off, so I'm sure they had a lot of fuel on board," Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said. "Most of the injuries are going to be due to fire-related deaths."

 

"We are going to say a mass prayer before we begin the work of removing the bodies," he said.

 

The crash was the country's worst domestic airplane accident in nearly six years.

 

Lexington police spokesman Sean Lawson said investigators were looking into whether the plane took off from the wrong runway. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency had no indication at all that terrorism was involved.

 

The flight crew was experienced and had been flying that airplane for some time, and the plane's maintenance was up to date, Comair President Don Bornhorst said. He would not speculate on what happened but said, "We are absolutely, totally committed to doing everything humanly possible to determine the cause of this accident."

 

In Atlanta, Rev. Harold Boyce, a volunteer chaplain at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, said most of the passengers were connecting to other flights and did not have family waiting there.

 

One woman was expecting her sister on that flight. The two had planned to fly together to catch an Alaskan cruise, he said.

 

"Naturally, she was very sad," Boyce said. "She was handling it. She was in tears."

 

The only survivor, described as a crew member, was in surgery at the University of Kentucky hospital.

 

Bornhorst identified the crew members as Capt. Jeffrey Clay, who was hired by Comair in 1999, first officer James M. Polehinke, who was hired in 2002, and flight attendant Kelly Heyer, hired in 2004.

 

The plane had undergone routine maintenance as recently as Saturday, Bornhorst said. Comair purchased that plane in January 2001, and all maintenance was normal as far as the information Comair had Sunday morning, he said.

 

The plane had 14,500 flight hours, "consistent with aircraft of that age," Bornhorst said.

 

And a picture of an identical plane:

 

 

One survivor. Wow

creepy man.

 

 

horrible way to die.

 

RIP.

Probably better to die right after takeoff than to plummet from several miles up in the sky.

Pretty much all news sources are saying it took off on the wrong runway, and it was either the pilot who accidentally went onto the wrong runway or the only air traffic controller on duty at the time directed the plane onto the wrong runway.

I'm not sure how taking off from the wrong runway would mean you crash after takeoff.

I'm not sure how taking off from the wrong runway would mean you crash after takeoff.

The winds may have been incorrect for the takeoff trajectory of this plane and would explain why it crashed right after liftoff.

Maybe so, but the first article noted that it was about a mile from the airport where the crash occured. By then the aircraft should have had a fair amount of altitude.

Maybe so, but the first article noted that it was about a mile from the airport where the crash occured. By then the aircraft should have had a fair amount of altitude.

 

 

 

It was under 3,500 feet when it lost the radar.

Maybe so, but the first article noted that it was about a mile from the airport where the crash occured. By then the aircraft should have had a fair amount of altitude.

 

 

 

It was under 3,500 feet when it lost the radar.

ya, one mile is like 20 seconds after takeoff.

I'm not sure how taking off from the wrong runway would mean you crash after takeoff.

 

Because the plane needs a 5,000-6,000 foot runway, and the runway it took off on was not even half that length.

I'm not sure how taking off from the wrong runway would mean you crash after takeoff.

 

Because the plane needs a 5,000-6,000 foot runway, and the runway it took off on was not even half that length.

 

When you take off from a runway of sufficient size, the plane is supposed to take an angle that allows for wind to properly enter the engines, thus making them fire correctly and create a force that can cause the aerodynamics portion of the take off to occur smoothly, adjusting for the weight of the plane.

 

When you take off on a shorter runway then needed, the plane's weight will not allow for a proper take off ensuing that the only way the plane leaves the ground is by the pilot overriding the normal dynamics and taking a drastically steeper angle. More times than not, the plane will not get proper wind circulation through the engines, thus making the engines "stall" and the plane to come crashing back to the ground under its own weight.

I'm not sure how taking off from the wrong runway would mean you crash after takeoff.

 

Because the plane needs a 5,000-6,000 foot runway, and the runway it took off on was not even half that length.

 

Oh there we go, I wasn't even thinking the runway may be shorter.

I'm not sure how taking off from the wrong runway would mean you crash after takeoff.

 

Because the plane needs a 5,000-6,000 foot runway, and the runway it took off on was not even half that length.

 

When you take off from a runway of sufficient size, the plane is supposed to take an angle that allows for wind to properly enter the engines, thus making them fire correctly and create a force that can cause the aerodynamics portion of the take off to occur smoothly, adjusting for the weight of the plane.

 

When you take off on a shorter runway then needed, the plane's weight will not allow for a proper take off ensuing that the only way the plane leaves the ground is by the pilot overriding the normal dynamics and taking a drastically steeper angle. More times than not, the plane will not get proper wind circulation through the engines, thus making the engines "stall" and the plane to come crashing back to the ground under its own weight.

 

 

 

 

Good post. Sounds like you know a thing or two about flying.

 

 

Actually kind of scary how many things need to be right for a plane to have a successful take off as oppossed to crashing into the earth.

 

 

I hated flying already.....this stuff makes it worse.

I'm not sure how taking off from the wrong runway would mean you crash after takeoff.

 

Because the plane needs a 5,000-6,000 foot runway, and the runway it took off on was not even half that length.

 

When you take off from a runway of sufficient size, the plane is supposed to take an angle that allows for wind to properly enter the engines, thus making them fire correctly and create a force that can cause the aerodynamics portion of the take off to occur smoothly, adjusting for the weight of the plane.

 

When you take off on a shorter runway then needed, the plane's weight will not allow for a proper take off ensuing that the only way the plane leaves the ground is by the pilot overriding the normal dynamics and taking a drastically steeper angle. More times than not, the plane will not get proper wind circulation through the engines, thus making the engines "stall" and the plane to come crashing back to the ground under its own weight.

 

 

 

 

Good post. Sounds like you know a thing or two about flying.

 

 

Actually kind of scary how many things need to be right for a plane to have a successful take off as oppossed to crashing into the earth.

 

 

I hated flying already.....this stuff makes it worse.

Or he was just repeating verbatim exactly what was said on FoxNews and MSNBC about an hour ago :mischief .

I've flown these commuter flights a lot. They usually fly them to get people to major hubs like Atlanta or for short flights like from New Orleans to Orlando. I've always been a bit afraid when flying on these things.

 

I was supposed to be on a ComAir flight from Cincinatti to Ft. Lauderdale in a Delta connecting airport but we missed that plane because our initial flight from San Diego to Cincinatti was delayed landing due to rain. ComAir is a connection service for Delta. Spending 4 hours in a Delta connecting airport, I saw a few planes just like this one land and take off.

 

They're not very big at all. And they're the kind of planes that have the fold-away stairs that go up into and out of the cabin. Not a very great atmosphere to die in, I would imagine.

my uncle flies for comair, so of course this story caught my attention and my heart goes out to the family and passengers

 

however, the aircraft isn't more unsafe than a larger plane or anything like that - if anything, these type of planes offer more room for error - speaking with my uncle he has always raved about the aircraft and the technology in them compared to other jets he has flown - looks like poor communication got in the way here

Someone with flight knowledge correct me if Im wrong but the take-off is statistically the most dangerous time in a flight right?

Someone with flight knowledge correct me if Im wrong but the take-off is statistically the most dangerous time in a flight right?

 

 

Correct.

Someone with flight knowledge correct me if Im wrong but the take-off is statistically the most dangerous time in a flight right?

 

 

Absolutely

I'm not sure how taking off from the wrong runway would mean you crash after takeoff.

 

Because the plane needs a 5,000-6,000 foot runway, and the runway it took off on was not even half that length.

 

When you take off from a runway of sufficient size, the plane is supposed to take an angle that allows for wind to properly enter the engines, thus making them fire correctly and create a force that can cause the aerodynamics portion of the take off to occur smoothly, adjusting for the weight of the plane.

 

When you take off on a shorter runway then needed, the plane's weight will not allow for a proper take off ensuing that the only way the plane leaves the ground is by the pilot overriding the normal dynamics and taking a drastically steeper angle. More times than not, the plane will not get proper wind circulation through the engines, thus making the engines "stall" and the plane to come crashing back to the ground under its own weight.

 

 

as a pilot myself I agree that there is a good chance this is what happend.