Lawyer Blames Passengers for Crash of Comair Flight 5191!

The Lexington KY Herald-Leader ran an article today describing how a lawyer for the co-pilot and only survivor of Comair flight 5191, James Polehinke, blamed the 47 passengers for purchasing tickets for the ill-fated flight. They should have known, he asserted, that conditions were unsafe for air travel that day. Later on the lawyer, William E. Johnson, withdrew the bizarre defense, but not before families of the victims got wind of it.

Here's how flight instructor Gene Benson explained the situation:

"This example shows how a professional airline crew failed to exercise due diligence and directly caused 49 deaths and one serious injury. The captain was among the fatalities and the first officer was the only survivor. The accident occurred in Lexington, Kentucky in 2006. The crew of a Comair CRJ-100 attempted to execute a takeoff on the wrong runway. They had been cleared to taxi to and takeoff from Runway 22 but instead lined up on Runway 26 which was not long enough. The takeoff was made in pre-dawn conditions. Runway 22 was well lit while Runway 26 was dark. Company procedures require a 'sterile cockpit,' or no conversation not directly necessary for the operation of the aircraft, below 10,000 feet. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) revealed that casual conversation about their families continued as they taxied to the runway."