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United States Pilots Association |
August 27, a Sunday, in Lexington Kentucky, a Comair CRJ-200 was cleared for takeoff on a 6:07 am flight to Atlanta with 50 people on board. The controller cleared the aircraft for takeoff on runway 22. For some inexplicable reason the plane attempted to take off on runway 26, a 3,500’ unlit general aviation runway. The weather was rainy and it was still dark. The aircraft never made it into the air. Instead it crashed through a fence and contacted the ground where it exploded and burned. Forty-nine of the 50 people died in the conflagration.
What were the known facts that led up to this horrible occurrence? First the main runway (22) had just been repaved. The intersection with the smaller runway had poor to no markings and there was no lighting. No sign was present stating the available runway length from the intersection of the two runways or from the taxiway. Both pilots had been in to Lexington no less than six previous times and should have been familiar with the runway layout.
The ATC controller was alone on duty (a violation of the FAA's own policy). He cleared the aircraft for takeoff on runway 22 and then turned away from the window to perform "other" duties. Had there been another controller present, perhaps he might have caught the mistake in time and avoided the accident.
A nationally syndicated article in the August 31 newspapers shows a steady decline in the number of active controllers employed by the FAA. Add to this the forced settlement of the NATCA labor contract, and the threat of many more retirements as a result, and you are left with one conclusion. The FAA and its administrator are putting pilots and passengers into grave danger by foisting these economy moves upon all forms of aviation. This must stop.
The FAA has a government mandate to regulate the air traffic control system in this country. Computers and fancy avionics do not substitute for good judgment and a functioning set of Mark II eyeballs. Neither does outsourcing of essential services to large government contractors create any feeling of confidence or security. I would much prefer to have the government run the entire system than to see parts of the system outsourced to profit making organizations only concerned with their bottom line.
It is time to take Ms. Blakey to the proverbial woodshed. How many more of these mistakes are we to endure in the name of economy?
Steve Uslan, President
United States Pilots Association