Pilots Noted Runway Lights Were Off

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 08.28.06 2215 EDT: The pilots of Comair Flight 5191 noted the runway was not lit as their aircraft sped down the runway, according to statements by NTSB spokesperson Debbie Hersman at a press briefing Monday night from Blue Grass Airport.

Hersman added the CRJ-100's flight data recorder indicates the plane reached a maximum speed of 137 knots before it overran runway 26 and crashed into the ground off the end of the runway.

Hersman also confirmed the flight's first officer -- who is the only survivor of the accident -- was the flying pilot at the time of takeoff. James Polehinke remains in critical condition at a Lexington hospital, and the NTSB has not been able to speak with him as of yet.

The flight's load manifest listed a takeoff weight of 49,087 lbs. According to figures provided from the plane's manufacturer, Bombardier, the CRJ would have needed an estimated 3539 feet to allow the nosewheel to rotate -- 39 feet more than the length of runway 26.

The NTSB is conducting tests on the runway at KLEX Monday night, using a loaned CRJ-100, to determine if anything on the field may have led the pilots to mistake runway 26 for the 7,003-foot runway 22 -- the runway the tower cleared them to depart from.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov