Comair 5191 pilot to talk

flyingmoose

flyingmoose

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Flyingmoose
I was in Lexington, KY that day for work. I was commuting back and forth from Denver, but needed to stay that weekend. I remember getting calls from several people asking if I was OK because they knew I was flying back and forth from their a lot. I didn't know anyone on the flight, but I knew people that had friends or relatives on the flight. It was really sad. I used to fly over the crash site in the Tiger on approach to KLEX later when I moved there.

KLEX closed that runway, so they only have the one now.
 
Anthony said:
KLEX closed that runway, so they only have the one now.
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Has that runway been removed? It was effectively closed when Comair attempted to use it as it was limited to day use only.
 
It looks like they rearranged the runways. They have 2 but they are not attached anymore and further apart.
 
roncachamp said:
Has that runway been removed? It was effectively closed when Comair attempted to use it as it was limited to day use only.
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I don't live in Lexington anymore and I was based east of there at Mt. Sterling because I could get a hangar there, but I seem to remember them removing that runway.
 
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That will be very interesting to hear. One of the more aggravating pilot error accidents I have read about.
 
I think it's going to be a long drawn out version of "it wasn't my fault".
 
I would be shocked if that were the case. Last I remembered, he had brain damage and didn't recall much of the accident. But the factual evidence shows gross pilot error.
 
I admire him for wanting to revisit the accident publicly, and all I want to hear is "One of us should have just checked the mag compass before we touched the throttles." Such a simple thing, and any one of us could forget to do it, I guess.
 
As stupid as I think the Foreflight approaching runway blah blah feature is -- it might have made a difference. Then again if you're so unaware to begin with nothing probably would have.
 
rottydaddy said:
I admire him for wanting to revisit the accident publicly, and all I want to hear is "One of us should have just checked the mag compass before we touched the throttles." Such a simple thing, and any one of us could forget to do it, I guess.
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Just one of several simple things that could have prevented the accident. I got the impression the show was solely about being a sole survivor of a crash, nothing about Polehinke's role in it.
 
jesse said:
As stupid as I think the Foreflight approaching runway blah blah feature is -- it might have made a difference. Then again if you're so unaware to begin with nothing probably would have.
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Yes, any GPS with a moving map that would have told them exactly where they were would have helped. However, having zero SA from the getgo, they probably wouldn't have used it. The runway being the wrong number, and the fact it wasn't lighted should have tipped them off.
 
rottydaddy said:
I admire him for wanting to revisit the accident publicly, and all I want to hear is "One of us should have just checked the mag compass before we touched the throttles." Such a simple thing, and any one of us could forget to do it, I guess.
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This is when part 121 and 123 operators required the cross checking of runway heading and the compass.
 
jesse said:
As stupid as I think the Foreflight approaching runway blah blah feature is -- it might have made a difference. Then again if you're so unaware to begin with nothing probably would have.
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It may not have helped. The transcript shows one pilot say "Runway 24" the other correct him to "Runway 22" and then they accidentally took "Runway 26."

I could totally see that being a contributing factor (its only 2 numbers off of runway 24 in the other direction). Foreflight would have announced Runway 26 and if my theory is right (there's no evidence that it is), it wouldn't have helped.

But hell, I'm all for more Situational Awareness. Who knows what would have been the tipping point to them realizing their mistake.
 
docmirror said:
I think it's going to be a long drawn out version of "it wasn't my fault".
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Seeing how he and his wife routinely say that he takes full responsibility and wishes he had gone down with the ship, I sincerely doubt it.

I feel horrible even researching this incident and thinking about the hell he must be living with - reduced mental faculty or not.
 
SkyHog said:
Seeing how he and his wife routinely say that he takes full responsibility and wishes he had gone down with the ship, I sincerely doubt it.

I feel horrible even researching this incident and thinking about the hell he must be living with - reduced mental faculty or not.
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It's a life sentence for sure, to live with that memory and have your physical condition remind you every waking breath of your life.

Which is why, supply and demand be damned, I'll never do that job for that little money. Avocations need to stay avocations when the math doesn't work out, just like every other scarcity decision I have to make in every other aspect of my life, airplane ownership included. To do things with abandon is the real negligence. I digress and Eternal Peace to the dead and those who still miss them...
 
The saddest thing is the guy could blame the airline and most folks wouldn't know the difference.
 
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