Controller turned away as plane went down runway, officials say

Herald-Leader ^ | 08/29/2006 | By Ryan Alessi and Jim Warren

[Responsibility2nd]

The air-traffic controller on duty at the time of the Sunday morning crash of Comair Flight 5191 cleared the plane for takeoff but turned his back to do administrative work as the plane went down the runway, investigators say.

Debbie Hersman, National Transportation Safety Board member, said the next thing the unidentified controller heard was an explosion.

Hersman said investigators are still analyzing what role the air-traffic controller’s attention might have played in the crash.

She said both the captain and the first officer arrived in Lexington on Saturday on different flights. First Officer James Polehinke arrived at 2 a.m. and Capt. Jeffrey Clay arrived at 3:30 p.m.

Hersman said that, although Polehinke was to pilot the plane at takeoff, it was Clay who drove the aircraft to the runway. The aircraft is designed so that only the captain has access to the controls to move the plane on the ground.

Polehinke had flown in and out of Blue Grass Airport 10 times in the last two years, while Clay had piloted flights six times during that time.

Hersman said an airport ground employee told investigators today that Polehinke and Clay arrived at the airport at 5:15 a.m. Sunday and got on the wrong plane first.

The ramp employee pointed out the error, and they moved to the correct aircraft, where the flight attendant arrived at 5:30 a.m.

She said there is no evidence at this point of alcohol use but doesn’t know why the crew chose the wrong plane at first or whether it matters.

There is no indication the crew stopped the plane at the point where the longer runway and the shorter runway intersect, she said.

Investigators are still analyzing how much of the runway the crew could have seen in the pre-dawn darkness.

Hersman said she viewed the runways from the tower Monday night and could see them clearly.

Family members of the victims will take a private tour of the crash site Wednesday and also will hold a private memorial at another location.

[Responsibility2nd]

My guess is that inattention by ATC's might be more common than we know.

[nj26]

Sad news all around...

People are going to make mistakes, but perhaps the FAA can learn from this incident and increase staffing at mid-sized airports such as LEX.

[BallyBill]

It always seems to turn out that a string of errors leads up to crashes like this. Some very serious judgment issues here.

[CindyDawg]

Sounds like one of those days when everything goes wrong (tragically, in this case).

[downtownconservative]

"First Officer James Polehinke arrived at 2 a.m. and Capt. Jeffrey Clay arrived at 3:30 p.m."

This looks at first glance as a pilot fatigue issue. Many of the commuter airlines have what they call constant-duty- overnights where the crew can be turned in less time than a normal crew rest period. Going to the wrong aircraft on a ramp of numerous machines isn't such a big deal, but certainly could support the fatigue issue. Data (V-speeds) for take- off are predicated on a specific runway's length, slope, obstacles and temperature and wind direction at the time of departure and my guess is these guys used a runway not approved for their aircraft or at least with insufficient length for their aircraft's actual takeoff weight and necessary performance. Fatigue will be raised as an issue IMHO.

[Responsibility2nd]

Some links at the site:

• Airport should have had two controllers, FAA says
  
• Pilots had not been in Lexington since runway was repaved
  
• Hear Tuesday afternoon's NTSB press conference (24 minutes long)
  

[California74]

Here's another article (from the AP)

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=nation_world&id=4509375

I was particularly intrigued by this snippet:

"Polehinke was flying the plane when it crashed, but it was the flight's captain, Jeffrey Clay, who taxied the aircraft onto the wrong runway, [National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie]Hersman said. Clay then turned over the controls to Polehinke for takeoff, the investigator said."

[downtownconservative]

If the crew rolled on a runway other than the one on which they were cleared for takeoff, the controller should have called for an abort, but ultimately, that is the crews responsibility.

[downtownconservative]

If the runway was just recently repaved, it is possible that the runway markings were not yet imprinted. This will all come out in the NTSB investigation, but I stand by my gut feeling that these guys were tired due to a prevalent commuter airline policy that short changes crew rest. Also, the captain always taxis the aircraft for ground movement. Very few airliners have nose wheel steering on the first officer's side of the cockpit.

[California74]

Thank you for that interesting info. I bet 90% of the general public do not know that the captain always taxis the aircraft for ground movement. I actually had no clue what the first officer was until this incident. I would have just said "Co-Pilot."

I agree with your assessment at this point re: the runway markings and possible pilot fatigue.

I pray for the surviving first officer and his family. What a tough road lies ahead.

[carbonarc]

>>Hersman said that, although Polehinke was to pilot the plane at takeoff, it was Clay who drove the aircraft to the runway. The aircraft is designed so that only the captain has access to the controls to move the plane on the ground.>>

Uh, no! I hate it when they add stupid embellishments. There are no passenger certified aircraft without full dual controls. And if the FO couldn't taxi, as this dumb statement implies, then he sure couldn't take off, which also involves rolling and steering the plane down a runway. Either Debbie Hersman, or the reporter, are clueless.

Here's a link to a detaled photo of the cockpit of a typical EMB-120. Me being HTML challenged, you have to copy and paste.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=0124001

You may have to brighten it up to see, but all the primary controls are fully duplicated.

[SLB]

I hate to burst your bubble, but the Canadair only has one joy stick for maneuvering on the ground. It is located by the captain, out of reach of the first officer. The captain lines the AC up on the runway and takes his/her hand off of the stick effectively turning control over to the first officer for take off.

[carbonarc]

Hahaha, egg on my face. I would never have believed it, but after seeing your article I clusty-searched it and you're right. Oh well, at least my photo is accurate.

[george76]

[dr_lew]

If the runway was just recently repaved, it is possible that the runway markings were not yet imprinted.

I commented on another thread that there is a CNN video with a shot from the air showing the new runway markings where they were supposed to take off.

The thing is, they were moved. The 22 was displaced several hundred feet down the runway to lengthen the unused hashmarked portion. You can compare the CNN video with the Google Maps view of the airport to see this.

This is why the taxiway was changed. No new taxiways were built but the one going to the very end of 22 was blocked, so now the planes have to start a turn onto 26 and veer across it and up another prexisting taxiway. To me, a very obvious contributory factor. Here's an AP photo from yesterday with a ground view of a plane negotiating the taxiway to 22.

Here's a new one from today showing the old taxiway at the base of 26, now blocked with a low barrier. The photo shows a worker erecting a yellow "X" to mark 26.