Comair pilots thought it 'weird' runway not lighted

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/17/comair.ap/index.html

Seconds before a commuter plane crashed after going down the wrong runway, the co-pilot noted it was "weird" that the Lexington, Kentucky, strip had no lights, according to a transcript released Wednesday.

The runway wasn't long enough for a passenger jet when Comair Flight 5191 took off before dawn on August 27.

Co-pilot James Polehinke said it was "weird with no lights," just seconds before the sound of the impact was heard, according to the National Transportation Safety Board transcript. The captain, Jeffrey Clay, then responded, "Yeah."

The crash of killed 49 of 50 people on board. Polehinke, the lone survivor, lost a leg and suffered brain damage from the crash. He has told family members he remembers nothing about that morning.

According to federal investigators, Clay taxied the plane onto the wrong runway before Polehinke took over the controls for takeoff from Lexington's Blue Grass Airport.

[PCIntern]

1. Shame the other 48 souls on board

didn't have a vote as to whether the crew should call the tower and ask WTF?

[juajen]

2. Didn't want to ask directions

Just sayin'.

[Earth_First]

3. How about refusing to taxi the aircraft any further before asking for directions?

Or inquire as to why the runway was improperly illuminated?

As an individual who drives vehicles with a CDL-B, I am required, and obligated to refuse any load which violates Department of Transportation regulations, and have.

We had an instance this past summer in which a fellow employee lost an entire trailer full of landscape pavers off his trailer after the load was improperly balanced to the rear, and lost the trailer on slick roads unable to recover and dumped the entire load on Interstate 390. He complained that it was the individual in the yard where he picked up his load, claiming that the loading operator was under pressure to get trucks out of the lot, and unload 3 trailers that were waiting to be unloaded into the yard. YOU and YOU alone are responsible for the load. If you feel it is unsafe, refuse the load. Call the DOT or the Sheriff's Department Commercial Enforcement Division, but it is YOUR responsibility once you accept the load.

This is no different. The pilot and co-pilot were responsible for knowing without any doubt what they were doing. They obviously did not. Sadly, they sealed the fate of 49 passengers onboard.