About ten seconds into the takeoff roll, Polehinke commented, “That is weird with no lights.”“Yeah,” said Captain Clay. Captain Clay and First Officer Polehinke seemed to have a very relaxed relationship, with Clay using the phrase “at your leisure” repeatedly, and agreeing to engage in off-topic conversation initiated by Polehinke. Within a very short period, likely 30 seconds or less, 22 more people perished amid the smoke and flames, some from burning and some from smoke inhalation. The crew stopped the plane and sat there for 50 seconds, making final preparations for takeoff. They never expressed confusion about their location. Please subscribe to keep reading. In these critical phases of flight, any off-topic discussions could distract them from important duties.After a minute or two, flight 5191 arrived at the junction of taxiway A and runway 26. The tail section crushed the airport perimeter fence, then the plane briefly touched down in a field before bouncing back into the air. Neither had any history of mistakes or violations. No one could dispute that they were good pilots who cared about doing their job well. And the absence of certain lights would not have immediately raised red flags — in fact, on his flight into Lexington Polehinke had noticed that some of the lights on runway 22 weren’t working, and this was reflected in notices issued to the crew that very morning.Taking all these factors together, it seems possible that the pilots missed signs that they were on runway 26 due to confirmation bias. In command of the flight were Captain Jeffrey Clay, 35, and First Officer James Polehinke, 44, both relatively experienced pilots who had received nothing but praise from those who worked with them. You must be a full digital subscriber to read this article. Plane crash victim, 81, was beloved 'hometown hero' in Culpeper You can cancel at any time.
If Comair had made this check standard after the Anchorage accident, the crash in Lexington almost certainly would not have happened.The accidents in Alaska and Kentucky were not the only instances of air crews taking off on the wrong runway. One such flight was Comair 5191, a short trip from Lexington, Kentucky to Atlanta, Georgia early on the morning of the 27th of August 2006. In the 2012 documentary “Sole Survivor,” his wife tearfully stated, “He by no means pulled the long straw and won the lottery because he got to live.
The CRJ-100 ran off the end of the runway, lifted off momentarily, then smashed into an embankment, a fence, and a grove of trees. The FAA had previously issued verbal guidance requesting that two controllers be on duty during the midnight shift, but at many airports this policy was applied inconsistently. Engulfed in flames, the plane crashed back to earth and slid for 120 meters before careening into another grove of trees, which shredded the fuselage and instantly killed numerous passengers.
There was, of course, the violation of the sterile cockpit rule — but as investigators and pilots willingly admit, the sterile cockpit rule is violated all the time. You can cancel at any time.
Please subscribe to keep reading. Clay uttered an expletive. Flight 5191 then plowed into a stand of trees, snapping them off barely two meters above ground level. The plane broke apart and slid to a stop in a field, consumed in flames. Although media reports made much of their non-pertinent conversation, in truth it could hardly be described as a scandal, and it certainly didn’t cause the crash all on its own.Many other factors also existed. You can cancel at any time. So, perhaps the pilots were not in a “head space” where they would have to deal with runway 26. The media largely blamed the pilots without recognizing that mistakes are never made in a vacuum.
If Comair had made this check standard after the Anchorage accident, the crash in Lexington almost certainly would not have happened.The accidents in Alaska and Kentucky were not the only instances of air crews taking off on the wrong runway. One such flight was Comair 5191, a short trip from Lexington, Kentucky to Atlanta, Georgia early on the morning of the 27th of August 2006. In the 2012 documentary “Sole Survivor,” his wife tearfully stated, “He by no means pulled the long straw and won the lottery because he got to live.
The CRJ-100 ran off the end of the runway, lifted off momentarily, then smashed into an embankment, a fence, and a grove of trees. The FAA had previously issued verbal guidance requesting that two controllers be on duty during the midnight shift, but at many airports this policy was applied inconsistently. Engulfed in flames, the plane crashed back to earth and slid for 120 meters before careening into another grove of trees, which shredded the fuselage and instantly killed numerous passengers.
There was, of course, the violation of the sterile cockpit rule — but as investigators and pilots willingly admit, the sterile cockpit rule is violated all the time. You can cancel at any time.
Please subscribe to keep reading. Clay uttered an expletive. Flight 5191 then plowed into a stand of trees, snapping them off barely two meters above ground level. The plane broke apart and slid to a stop in a field, consumed in flames. Although media reports made much of their non-pertinent conversation, in truth it could hardly be described as a scandal, and it certainly didn’t cause the crash all on its own.Many other factors also existed. You can cancel at any time. So, perhaps the pilots were not in a “head space” where they would have to deal with runway 26. The media largely blamed the pilots without recognizing that mistakes are never made in a vacuum.