"Comair Takes Some Blame for Kentucky Crash"

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Comair Takes Some Blame for Kentucky Crash 
BY JEFFREY McMURRAY 
The Associated Press 


Comair admitted to U.S. investigators that its pilots were partly
responsible for an airplane crash that killed 49 people, but the company
also said better systems for alerting airlines to taxiway changes might have
prevented it.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is trying to determine what
caused the Aug. 27 crash, released Wednesday what are essentially the final
arguments from the major parties in the investigation.

Blue Grass Airport, aircraft manufacturer Bombardier and the air traffic
controllers' union pin most of the blame on the pilot and co-pilot, who in
the predawn hours steered the plane onto an unlit runway too short for a
commercial jet to take off. The co-pilot was the only survivor.

"It would be simple but inaccurate to conclude that the only cause of this
tragic accident was a mistake by Comair's well trained and experienced
flight crew," the airline wrote in its submission to the NTSB.

Besides stressing the company's emphasis on safety, Comair suggested that
the Federal Aviation Administration should revamp the system it uses to
alert airlines and their crews of changes to runways.

A week before the crash, the taxiways at Blue Grass Airport were slightly
altered by a runway widening project. The diagrams used by Comair's crew
were out of date, but the FAA did broadcast a NOTAM, or "notice to airmen,"
alerting all pilots of the change.

The system, "developed in the era of the teletype," the airline wrote,
should be replaced by one that gives pilots information in real time. The
airline provided few specifics.

In addition, Comair argued that the FAA needs a better approach to runway
surveillance. Only one controller was on duty at the time, and if there had
been more, the accident might have been prevented, Comair said.

The documents released Wednesday included no new information from the FAA,
which has previously acknowledged that separate controllers should have
watched the ground and the air during the overnight shift when the crash
occurred.

Blue Grass Airport solely blames the pilots for the crash, saying their
pre-flight chatter might have distracted them. Comair has acknowledged they
violated the FAA's "sterile cockpit" guidelines, which forbid conversation
not related to the flight during the most critical parts, such as taxi,
takeoff and landing.

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