At a press briefing Tuesday evening, NTSB spokesperson Debbie Hersman released new details pertaining to the familiarity of the crew and the air traffic controller with Lexington's Blue Grass Airport.
She said that NTSB investigators conducted interviews with several crew and airport workers directly involved with Flight 5191 the day of the crash.
Tuesday morning the NTSB air traffic control team interviewed the controller on duty at time of accident, as well as the ramp worker.
The interviews concluded that the crew checked in at 5:15 a.m., picked up their paperwork and boarded the aircraft.
Nothing out of the ordinary was noticed.
According to Hersman, the air traffic controller had been at the airport for 17 years, and was fully qualified to perform his duties on the day of the accident.
Air Traffic Controller: Timeline Of Events On Accident Day
- Scanned the radar display
- Saw no air traffic
- Had a clear, unobstructed view of the runway
- Cleared Flight 5191 to takeoff from runway 22
- Last time he saw the aircraft was when it was taxied to runway 22
- Said the pilot did not sound confused or disoriented
- Turned around to perform administrative duties in the tower
The NTSB performed taxi tests late Monday night. Investigators followed the path of the accident aircraft, from the ramp to runway 26, and did the same with runway 22.
They tested from 10:30 to around 1:00 in the morning..
The airport groups had representatives on board, and took turns documenting, observing, and re-enacting what the crew in Flight 5191 may have experienced before takeoff.
A representative was also in the air traffic control tower, to get a perspective of the visibility of the aircraft.
Hersman noted that 135 knots was the rotation speed needed to launch the aircraft.
Background of Flight Captain and First Officer
Captain, Jeffrey Clay
- 7 years with Comair
- Hired November 1999
- Became captain in 2004
- Burlington, Kentucky resident
- Rode as a passenger on a flight to Lexington on August 26, arrived at 3:30 p.m.
- Had been in Lexington's airport six times in past two years, the last time being in June.
First officer, Jim Polehinke
- Employed by Comair since 2002
- Lone survivor
- Arrived in Lexington as a crew member on Flight 9471 from JFK Airport to Lexington at 2:00 a.m. on August 26
- Last in Lexington in May, had been in and out of the airport a total of 10 times in past two years.
- Flying pilot of accident flight.
Often the captain taxis an aircraft onto the taxi way, and positions the aircraft on the runway for takeoff before handing over control the the first officer, which was the case in this incident.
In this particular aircraft, the tiller that steers the aircraft on ground was on the captain's side only.
According to the NTSB investigations update, Captain Jeffrey Clay taxied the aircraft to runway 26, before handing over control to First Officer Jim Polehinke for takeoff.
Runway 26 remains closed until further notice.