Comair Files Suit against FAA over Kentucky Crash

By Thomas Hall

Published on March 15, 2007

49 out of 50 people on board were killed in the disaster at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport. The co-pilot is the sole survivor.

Comair says the FAA had only one air traffic controller on duty when the crash occurred. The airline says it should have had two.

The plane plummeted into a field just outside the airport in the early morning hours after mistakenly taking off from a runway too short to accommodate larger planes. The controller in the tower that morning had turned away to tend to administrative work before the plane took off.

The FAA says it was not negligent.

The latest lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.

A previous lawsuit filed by Comair against the FAA was dismissed. That suit claimed the FAA failed to inspect and approve taxi route construction at Blue Grass Airport. The taxi route that led to the longer, correct runway had been changed a week before the crash.

Comment on this article →