LEXINGTON, Ky., Aug. 27, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Comair President Don Bornhorst provided the following updates regarding Flight 5191 in a press conference held at 2:30 p.m. today in Lexington, Ky.
-- Comair Flight 5191, a 50-seat Bombardier CRJ100 operating from
Lexington's Blue Grass Airport to Atlanta, was involved in an
accident at approximately 6 a.m. today near the Lexington
airport. The flight was carrying 47 passengers and three crew
members.
-- Comair has confirmed that the following crew members were onboard
Flight 5191: Captain Jeffrey Clay, 35, has been an employee of
Comair since November 1999 and is based at Cincinnati/Northern
Kentucky International Airport; First Officer James Polehinke,
44, has been an employee of Comair since March 2002 and is based
at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York; Flight
Attendant Kelly Heyer, 27, has been a Comair employee since July
2004 and is based at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New
York. There was one survivor of the accident.
-- Comair continues to contact families of those who were onboard
Flight 5191 and a dedicated toll-free phone line remains
available to family and friends with inquiries about this
accident. The center can be reached at 1-800-801-0088.
-- Employee volunteers of the Comair and Delta Care Team were
dispatched to assist family members and loved ones of passengers
and crew on Comair Flight 5191 shortly after it was learned that
the flight had been involved in an accident. An initial group of
54 team members was dispatched from around the system to
Lexington and Atlanta where the families of passengers were
waiting.
-- Comair is cooperating fully with all authorities who will be
investigating this accident, including the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) and federal, local and state law enforcement
agencies. The final determination of the probable cause of the
accident will ultimately by determined by the NTSB.
-- Comair has confirmed the following information about the CRJ100
involved in this accident.
- Aircraft Type: 50-seat Bombardier CRJ100 regional jet
(Model: CL600-2B19)
- Tail number 7472
- Registration number N431CA
- Manufactured in: January 2001
- Delivered to Comair: January 30, 2001
- Airframe Cycles (total number of landings): 12,048
- Airframe Hours (flight time): 14,536.2
- Last overnight maintenance check for aircraft: Lexington
8-26-06
Comair will continue to post updated information on the accident as it is available at Comair.com.