Taking off in predawn light and a gentle rain, the Delta Connection crew for Flight 5191 used a narrow, 3,400-foot stretch of pavement known as Runway 26 that was not intended for jets, only smaller prop planes, at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport. Experts said that on such a short strip, the plane probably would not have been able to gain enough speed before takeoff.
Both the old and new taxiways cross over the shorter general aviation runway where the commuter jet tried to take off early Sunday, Blue Grass Airport Executive Director Michael Gobb told The Associated Press.
The runway repaving was completed late on the previous Sunday, Gobb said. It wasn’t clear if the Comair pilots aboard Flight 5191 had been there since the change. Comair operates that regular 6 a.m. weekend flight to Atlanta from Lexington, but another commuter airline takes over that commute during the week.
“It’s slightly different than it used to be,” said Charlie Monette, president of Aero-Tech flight school, which is based at the airport. “Could there have been some confusion associated with that? That’s certainly a possibility.”
MSNBC.comWashington Post
Comair intends on releasing passenger manifest after conferring with families
Comair has only had one crash and that was back in 1997 after a plane crashed on an icy runway in Michigan.
(photo from MSNBC.com)
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