Kentucky plane crash (headline changed per Moddy) ....

It looks like we're gonna find out how poorly lit some runways are in the dark.

 

What did I miss, mark, that prompted this post from you?

 

I didn't mention 9/11, but then again, the head didn't say "accident." She said "crash."

But yes, I was referring to the crash in Queens.

 

Done:
Apparently, he tried to take off from a runway he thought was 7,000 feet that was only 3.500.
Now, I'm sure all of us who've flown have seen the little markers that indicate how many thousands of feet a pilot has left till the end of a runway. Now, it was dark. So, did he not know he was running out of room?

 

You KNOW that is unadulterated, whiny bullshit.

Yes, Idaho as a moddy and the split of the boards were pretty shortsighted moves.

The rest, best I can recall? Butter.

And, you, personally, are the best of the five-star-plus-general group.

 

Shouldn't the air-traffic controller notice if the pilot's taking the wrong runway? I'm imaging Lexington is a big enough airport to have someone in the tower at 6 a.m. Sunday.

 

They apparently cleared them onto one runway, he used another. You are right, why the tower wouldn't have seen it will probably be a part of the investigation.

 

Yeah, but so should the pilot. Given the way Comair operates, I can't imagine that the pilot didn't know the layout of the runways at Bluegrass Airport. I've flown out of LEX even earlier than that 6 a.m. Delta flight with no problems.

I can hazard a guess ... typically, commercial flights take off on the northeast-southwest axis from BGA. Maybe the pilot taxied around to the liftoff area but turned left at the first turnoff (to the shorter runway) rather than continuing to the second (the 7,000-footer he was supposed to use). According to the Herald-Leader, this morning there were few clouds and no visibility restrictions but it was still a half-hour before sunrise.

The sole survivor was the plane's first officer. Maybe someday he'll be able to answer that question.

 

I've gone out of there, too, in the dark.
At that ungodly hour, I'm surprised more mistakes aren't made that time of day.

 

All of us on this board have probably flown REALLY early. I've always assumed the crew were morning people by nature. This one is a lot more scary than hair gel bombs.

 

Mark, the runway the pilot supposedly used is a daytime only runway. I don't know why the airtraffic controller didn't realize the plane was on the wrong one before it was too late.