LEXINGTON, Ky. — The lone air traffic controller on duty the morning Comair Flight 5191 crashed cleared the jet for takeoff, then turned his back to do some "administrative duties" as the aircraft veered down the wrong runway, a federal investigator said Tuesday.
Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged violating its own policies when it assigned only one controller to the Lexington tower.
The commuter jet struggled to get airborne and crashed in a field before daybreak Sunday, killing 49 of the 50 people aboard, after taking off from a 3,500-foot runway instead of an adjoining one that was twice as long.
Experts said the plane needed at least 5,000 feet for takeoff. The sole survivor, first officer James Polehinke, was in critical condition Tuesday.
The air traffic controller had an unobstructed view of the runways and had cleared the aircraft for takeoff from the longer runway, said National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman.
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Then, "he turned his back to perform administrative duties," Hersman said. "At that point, he was doing a traffic count." The controller, whose name was not released, had been working at the airport for 17 years and was fully qualified, Hersman said.
Polehinke was flying the plane when it crashed, but it was the flight's captain, Jeffrey Clay, who taxied onto the wrong runway, Hersman said. Clay then turned over the controls to Polehinke for takeoff, the investigator said.
Polehinke was pulled from the burning plane after the crash but has not been able to tell investigators why the pilots tried to take off from the wrong runway.
