Posted on 08/27/2006 4:38:10 AM PDT by BigBlueJon
Edited on 08/27/2006 5:02:21 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Possible plane crash in Lexington, KY. My brother works security for Lexington UK Hospital and was just called in. No news locally or on major news outlets yet. I didn't want to post anything for fear of being wrong, but he's still waiting for an official call while on stand-by.
Update from WTVQ 36 Lexington:
A plane has crashed near the Blue Grass Airport this morning. No word on details at this time. We are told it was a commercial aircraft. Versailles Road is blocked as emergency vehicles circle around the site. We have live coverage beginning at 7:20am. Stay with Action News 36 for more details.
The "cleared while taxiing" scenario is mainly just for jets. Since jets don't have to do a run-up, they'll accept the clearance and make their final checks before beginning their takeoff roll.
So sorry for your loss. So far I don't know any of the victims, but with a town the size of Lexington I'd be hard pressed to lay odds that someone I once met wasn't present.
Looks like it jumped the ditch at the end of the runway, dragged wheels across the berm, got a little bit airborne but caught on the fence (all of which must have drastically reduced forward speed), made a feeble climb (tree tops hit at about 30 or so feet up, from the looks of it), then lost it altogether...
Okay...I was just wondering how they KNEW that for sure, so quickly.
Well, then the question is...did he know runway 22 from 26??
I guess not.
According to the coronor late today, several of the passengers may have been trying to get out of the airplane after the crash. Sounds like many may have survived the crash, but died in the ensuing fire. Makes it even more difficult to consider. So many touching and sad stories. One couple (former UK baseball player) just got married last night and were headed on their honeymoon. Another couple were on their way to some place in the Caribbean to get married on Tuesday. Another lawyer (79 years old) were headed to Alaska for a cruise. Sad sad sad.....
Ah, I see. Thanks.
I am going to think of it as the smoke and not fire that killed them. Best way to handle it.
I am sorry for your losses. Prayers for all involved.
FWIW: Air Traffic Control does not make errors.
I would have thought you were an air traffic controller, according to that statement! :)
So sad, your post 695 is leaving me teary eyed as well. May God ease your suffering as well as the family members of all who were lost this morning.
I assume this happened really fast. Is it possible the controller might have been looking for him on 22?
Thanks for the info and hang in there, FRiend.
Most probably were unconcious from the explosion.
I was only a private pilot but there is a guy here that is ATC.
He could do any of those, and still look out at the runway, I would think.
"Any pilots out there ever get clearance to take off while in transit to the runway?"
No clue. I was a flight attendant for United and saw some mighty angry pilots who had a bone to pick with some air traffic controllers upon landing. Apparently they were allowing us to share a runway with another plane!
I just looked on Google Earth at the relationship between the tower and the two runways, and...well, I can see how the controller, even if he was paying some attention, could have missed the fact the plane was at the incorrect runway. With it being dark, all he would have seen was a mess of lights down there, and it would have been difficult to tell the aircraft's orientation until it began rolling down the runway...at which time it would have been too late.
I'm still very interested in seeing what the airport lighting situation was...
So they pull out of the terminal (bottom left of the Google picture). They taxi up taxiway A--the one that runs behind the parking lot in that shot--and get to runway 26. In theory, there should be a sign there that says, in red with white lettering, "26", indicating they're facing runway 26. There may (I'm not sure) also be a sign there indicating that taxiway A7 continues on the other side of the runway, that's the doglegged connector between the end of runway 26 and the end of runway 22.
According to Blue Grass's listing at airnav.com, runway 04/22 (the main runway) is lit with HIRLs--high-intensity runway lights--along the edges. Runway 08/26 is lit with MIRLs--medium-intensity runway lights. *BUT*...there's a note there that says "MIRL RY 08/26 OTS INDEFLY." Meaning, the MIRLs on that runway were out of service indefinitely. I do wonder, if the lights on 08/26 were working, if the pilots might've been able to figure out that they were on a 3500-foot runway. I'm not sure if they could even gauge the runway length just from edge lights if they were sitting at one end (I'm not a pilot).
Also, I wonder something else...I'd love to hear if there was ATIS (automated terminal information service) there, and what the ATIS recording was at the time of takeoff. Crews are supposed to listen to the ATIS before taxiing out, and verify with the controller that they have the right one, as it's usually changed at least once and hour. ATIS has the weather--winds, visibility, ceilings, etc.--and it's also usually got information about the airport, like closed taxiways or runways, certain restrictions, etc. I wonder if the lighting being out of commission on 08/26 was mentioned on the ATIS.
On another board, a guy who lives in Lexington and who has flown general aviation aircraft out of that airport says that it's actually quite possible to do just what happened today and get 26 and 22 mixed up if you aren't paying attention.
}:-)4
Possible, but the departure end of 26 is in the line of site to the departure end of 22 from the tower, or close to it anyway.
NBC satire on plane crash at Emmys.
I tried to access the www.deadlinehollywood.com site, the source drudge had linked, but it was down.
NBC is totally wacked.
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