Reacting to last summer’s crash of Comair Flight 5191 at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky.–as well as countless runway incursions and serious on-airport incidents that have occurred across the U.S. in recent years–the FAA has launched an effort to speed the testing and certification of surface moving maps for the flight deck.
The crew of the Comair CRJ100 mistakenly took off from a closed, 3,500-foot runway after making a wrong turn in the pre-dawn darkness last August 27. The flight had been cleared for takeoff from Runway 22 (which, at 7,001 feet, was twice as long) but airport construction altered the usual taxiway route for departing airplanes. Just as the pilots swung their CRJ onto the shorter, unlit Runway 26 and started their takeoff roll, the lone controller on duty turned his attention to a pile of unfinished paperwork. The Comair jet roared down the runway but failed to lift off in time to avoid smashing through a berm and into trees. Forty-nine of the 50 people on board were killed in the crash.
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