LEXINGTON, Ky.-
The co-pilot who survived the crash of Comair Flight 5191 underwent another operation Wednesday and could be released in a few days, a hospital spokesman said.
Doctors are operating on James Polehinke to stabilize his fractured spine, said Matt Cantor, spokesman for University of Kentucky Hospital. The co-pilot was the lone survivor of the Aug. 27 crash that killed 49 people.
If the surgery goes well, Polehinke could leave the hospital as soon as next week, Cantor said.
Polehinke then will start months of rehabilitation.
His family said this week that Polehinke’s left leg has been amputated. Other surgeries have repaired his broken right leg and foot.
A police officer pulled Polehinke out of the charred wreckage after the regional jet crashed trying to take off from Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport.
According to federal investigators, the captain taxied the jet onto a runway that was too short before Polehinke took over the controls and tried to get the jet airborne. The taxiway route had been changed a week before the crash due to construction.
Meanwhile, a crash victim’s family sued the airline Tuesday, claiming negligence. The lawsuit filed by the mother of Cecile Moscoe is among a half-dozen filed in federal court against Comair and its parent company, Delta Air Lines.
One lawsuit in state court involving a disagreement among relatives of a crash victim also names the airline as a defendant.
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