Attorneys Say NTSB's Comair Crash Ruling Will Have No Bearing in Court

By Thomas Hall

Published on July 31, 2007

The NTSB ruled last week that pilot error caused the 2006 crash of Comair flight 5191 just after takeoff at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky. The jet took off from a runway too short to accommodate larger planes, then plunged into a nearby field.

Investigators determined that the pilots' failure to use cues and aids to pinpoint the plane's location, as well as the pilots' failure to verify that the plane was taking off from the correct runway, led to the crash.

The NTSB also noted that the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to mandate that all pilots be cleared by air traffic controllers before crossing a runway was a contributing factor.

Forty-nine people were killed in the crash. The co-pilot was the sole survivor.

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