Airlines

Moments before a Comair CRJ100 crashed in the pre-dawn darkness after a failed take-off on the wrong runway at Kentucky’s Blue Grass airport, the aircraft’s first officer noted the absence of runway lights, a transcribed account of the cockpit voice recording reveals.

That is “weird with no runway lights,” first officer James Polehinke said as the aircraft accelerated to 100kt (185km/h) on the airport’s 1,100m (3,500ft) general aviation runway 26, nine seconds before the sound of first impact, according to the transcript released yesterday by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The aircraft, operating as Delta Connection flight 5191 on 27 August last year, failed to become airborne, impacting an airport perimeter fence and trees. Of the 50 passengers and crew on board, only the first officer survived.

The transcript also reveals that numerous references to the correct 2120m-long runway 22 were made by the pilots in their internal and external communications with controllers.

The NTSB in December asked the US Federal Aviation Administration to require operators to establish procedures “requiring all crew members on the flightdeck to positively confirm and cross-check the aircraft’s location at the assigned departure runway before crossing the hold-short line for take-off,” a practice Comair had not mandated at the time.

NTSB officials are expected to release a final report by mid-year.