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

Not doubting the lack of rest at all. I think the crew on my 5:30am flight arrived in town at around 10pm the night before. So yep, they're expected to make pretty quick turnarounds on very little sleep. Ahh, the nomad's life of a puddle-jumpin' shit-shakin' flight crew.

 

The short runway is being blamed for the crash, right?

Why did the plane crash a mile away then?

If it was airborne, I'm unclear what the runway has to do with it at that point.

 

Because the pilot used the short runway, he didn't have enough takeoff velocity for sustained flight. And the plane's impact point was less than a half-mile from takeoff, according to the newspaper graphics.

Here's a shot from the end of the short runway; the plane didn't get that far.

 

In addition, the tress behind the fence were cropped by the wings.

There was no safety area on the short runway, so the pilots -- once they recognized what was happened -- apparently had one terrifying choice: to try to get the plane up as best and as quickly as they could.

Had they tried to stop, the same result would have occurred. They were going too fast.

 

Should fuel tanks be releasable?

And/or can fuel be flash frozen?

 

I'm not sure I'd want to fly on any plane with releaseable fuel tanks.

I would like to know why the plane caught fire so quickly and why nobody was able to get out of the emergency exits though. It seems to me that there should have been some time to get out before the plane was engulfed.

 

At the speed it was going, impact is guaranteed to be an instant fireball. Even more so, if the plane was all fueled up for a full day of flying.

 

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader the coroner is now saying most of the victims died on impact, not in the fire.

 

How fast would a small jet be going at takeoff speed, at the end of a runway?

Even more amazing is that there was no safety area. Holy shit. I know it's a small airport, but c'mon.

 

CNN story today reported the plane's top speed before the crash was 158mph

 

Yeah, 158 mph probably is DOA.

 

Gotta remember, that runway is supposed to be used by small aircraft, not larger jets -- so the berm and fence are probably appropriate safety measures for such vessels.