Washington – In the minutes before the crash of a commuter jet that took off from the wrong runway in Lexington, Ky., the pilots discussed their families and job opportunities, violating a rule against extraneous cockpit conversation, the airline said Wednesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a transcript Wednesday of the cockpit recording aboard Comair Flight 5191. It was the first public disclosure of the pilots’ conversations during the ill-fated flight, which was the deadliest American aviation disaster in five years.
The transcript revealed that the flight crew “did not follow Comair’s general cockpit procedures,” Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx said. “It is unclear what role, if any, this played in the accident, so it would be premature to determine that.”
In 1981, the Federal Aviation Administration approved a so-called “sterile cockpit rule” that forbids, among other things, extraneous conversation during taxi, takeoff and landing.
As the pilots went through preflight procedures, Capt. Jeffrey Clay talked about his young children having colds, and co-pilot James Polehinke discussed his four dogs. The two men also discussed pay and working conditions, even as the controller occasionally interrupted to provide instructions.
“How old are they?” Polehinke asked six minutes before the crash. “Three months, and 2 years old,” Clay answered.
“That’s a nice range, age range,” Polehinke said.
“Who was sneezing, either nose wiped, diaper change. I mean that’s all we did all night long,” Clay said.
Forty-nine of the 50 people aboard the flight died on Aug. 27 after the plane took off in the dark from a runway too short for a passenger jet. The plane struggled to get into the air and went down in flames.
Polehinke was the lone survivor, losing a leg and suffering brain damage. He has told relatives he remembers nothing about that morning.
According to federal investigators, Clay taxied the plane onto the wrong runway at Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport before Polehinke took over the controls for takeoff.
Polehinke said: “I’ll take us to Atlanta.” Clay responded, “Sure.”
Polehinke said the runway looked “weird with no lights,” according to the transcript.
The captain responded, “Yeah.” The last intelligible word on the recording is the captain saying “Whoa” just a second before impact.
An engineering report also released Wednesday concluded the pilots never tried to abort the takeoff or realized they were on the wrong runway.
