Motley Rice Investigates Crash of Comair Flight 5191; Aviation Litigation Firm Only Firm to Have Worked on Similar CRJ Case

Business Wire, August 28, 2006

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. -- Motley Rice LLC, one of the nation's largest plaintiffs' litigation firms, is currently investigating the tragic crash of Comair Flight 5191, which crashed while en route from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport. According to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports, the flight crew inadvertently selected the wrong runway for takeoff. E[acute accent]Motley Rice investigation shows that if this is, in fact, the case, it is not the first time a flight has inadvertently gone to the wrong runway at Lexington's Blue Grass airport. According to a government report, a commercial flight preparing for take off from Lexington in 1993 made the same mistake. Thankfully, in the 1993 incident, air traffic controllers spotted the mistake before takeoff was attempted. There are two runways in Lexington. Runway 4/22, used by commercial aviation traffic, is approximately 7,000 feet long and the other, Runway 8/26, is only 3,500 feet long. The runways in Lexington are closely situated, and it is necessary for the commercial jets to taxi past the shorter runway en route to the longer one. Following the 1993 incident, it was recommended the airport improve the markings and give special guidance to pilots. E[acute accent]"There is seldom a single cause for an accident. It is usually a chain of events that culminates in tragedy," said Don McCune, a retired airline captain and aviation attorney with Motley Rice LLC. "Before a rush to judgment, it will be necessary to carefully consider all the factors that could lead to such an error." E[acute accent]McCune also stresses that confusing layouts and inadequate markings can make many airports hazardous under the best of circumstances. "Factor in darkness, rain, and inoperative lighting, and many times you are operating in a 'black hole.'" E[acute accent]Despite the National Transportation Safety Board's recommendations to the FAA to improve runway markings and control of aircraft at airports with multiple runways, progress has been sporadic. At Blue Grass, the longer runway normally has a row of lights along the centerline to help pilots confirm their position. Reports indicate lighting and navigation systems were not working in the pre-dawn darkness on the morning of the crash. E[acute accent]"It is imperative that the necessary changes are made to our nation's airports - both small and large - to ensure that accidents like these are avoided and no more innocent lives are lost," said Mary Schiavo, Motley Rice aviation attorney and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. E[acute accent]Runway mistakes and incursions are on the rise and the dangers increase with increased air traffic. Other factors that investigators likely will examine are the possibility of improper air traffic control actions, engine failure, flight control malfunctions, or weather problems. This is the second fatal crash of a CRJ aircraft in the United States.

E[acute accent]About Motley Rice LLC

E[acute accent]Motley Rice attorneys gained global recognition for their pioneering work on behalf of asbestos victims, the State Attorneys General in their landmark litigation against Big Tobacco, and the 9/11 families in their groundbreaking lawsuit against terrorist financiers. The firm is headquartered in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and has additional offices in Barnwell, South Carolina; Providence, Rhode Island; Hartford, Connecticut; and Atlanta, Georgia. Motley Rice attorneys continue to seek justice in the areas of: catastrophic injury; complex case resolution; consumer and commercial fraud; environmental hazards and contamination; medical negligence and defects; occupational disease and toxic torts; and transportation and aviation defects and disasters. For more information on Motley Rice LLC's aviation litigation practice, contact attorney Mary Schiavo at 1-800-768-4026 or visit http://www.motleyrice.com.