New Lawsuits in Comair Crash

By Thomas Hall

Published on August 31, 2007

Co-pilot James Polehinke and Amy Clay claim negligence on the part of the FAA, the airport, and Jeppesen Dataplan Inc. contributed to the crash of Comair Flight 5191 in August of last year.

Forty-nine of the 50 people on board perished when the plane crashed into a field shortly after takeoff. The plane had mistakenly taken off from a runway too short to accommodate larger jets.

The lawsuits come after the National Transportation Safety Board issued a report last month saying that pilot error was likely the cause of the accident.

The NTSB's report also indicated other possible causes, such as an understaffed control tower and a fatigued air traffic controller. In addition, investigators found that airport charts were outdated and that missing paperwork would have warned the pilots about a taxi route that had changed due to a construction project.

The lawsuits say the airport, FAA, and Jeppesen did not follow the proper rules and procedures to safeguard the plane.

Bluegrass Airport says the NTSB found that the airport board and its employees were not responsible for the accident. FAA inspections indicate that the airport's signs and markers were up to agency standards.

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