Crew had boarded wrong plane before takeoff

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August 30, 2006

NTSB admits fault in allowing only one controller in tower

By RONNIE ELLIS The Glasgow Daily Times Wed Aug 30, 2006, 11:38 AM CDT

LEXINGTON — The pilot and first officer of the Comair CRJ-100 that crashed Sunday morning at Blue Grass Airport originally boarded the wrong plane before a ramp worker told them of their mistake, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Debbie Hersman, an NTSB member, told reporters Tuesday that information was gleaned from an interview with the ramp worker. She also said it was the pilot, Jeffrey Clay, who taxied the aircraft to runway 26 rather than the longer runway 22, but that it was – as she reported Monday – the first officer, James Polehinke, who piloted the plane during takeoff.

The crew had begun safety checks and start-up on the first plane, a similar craft to the plane they were supposed to be on and that they eventually boarded before the accident. Hersman said investigators have found no reports or evidence of alcohol or drinking by the crew, but their autopsies will include toxicology examinations for evidence of alcohol and six listed drugs.

Hersman also reported the air traffic controller on duty at the time did not maintain visual contact with the plane after he cleared it for takeoff.

The last time he saw the plane, Hersman said, was when it was on the taxi zone leading to the runways. The controller then turned around to take care of some reports and paperwork and realized there had been an accident only when he heard an explosion.

“The fact of the matter is this controller did not have eye contact with the plane after he cleared it for takeoff,” Hersman said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that it erred in allowing only one air traffic controller at the tower in Lexington and its policy normally requires two. A second air traffic controller has since been assigned to the tower for the midnight to 8 a.m. shift on the weekend, following Sunday’s crash.

Hersman said the controller on duty Sunday has 17 years of experience at the Lexington airport and is “fully qualified.”

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