soulxtc
August 27th, 2006, 11:54 AM
Pilots Made 'Fatal' Error In Crash That Killed 49, CBS News Learns
(CBS/AP) Pilots of the Comair commuter jet that crashed with 50 people aboard near Lexington, Ky., used the wrong runway, CBS News has learned.
Forty-nine of the 50 people aboard were killed. The one survivor, a crewmember, was reported in critical condition.
U.S. officials who requested anonymity told CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr that the pilots apparently used a runway that was too short to accommodate the takeoff of the jet.
The officials said the pilots had made "a critical and fatal mistake."
The plane, Comair Flight 5191, a CRJ-200 regional jet with 47 passengers and three crew members, crashed at 6:07 a.m. Sunday after taking off for Atlanta, said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane was largely intact afterward, but there was a fire following the impact, police said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/27/national/main1936906.shtml
(CBS/AP) Pilots of the Comair commuter jet that crashed with 50 people aboard near Lexington, Ky., used the wrong runway, CBS News has learned.
Forty-nine of the 50 people aboard were killed. The one survivor, a crewmember, was reported in critical condition.
U.S. officials who requested anonymity told CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr that the pilots apparently used a runway that was too short to accommodate the takeoff of the jet.
The officials said the pilots had made "a critical and fatal mistake."
The plane, Comair Flight 5191, a CRJ-200 regional jet with 47 passengers and three crew members, crashed at 6:07 a.m. Sunday after taking off for Atlanta, said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane was largely intact afterward, but there was a fire following the impact, police said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/27/national/main1936906.shtml