LOL!!!!

 

I know that I would never want to be the sole survivor of a crash that I had some part in. Lousy controller, poor runway layout, taxiway/runway markings etc. etc...these are all mitigating factors and they all played just a big a part as not verifying runway heading prior to departure. Mistakes happen and when they do, you have to deal with the consequences. I hope he makes a speedy recovery and gets back into the cockpit. That being said, I highly doubt he'll ever see the cockpit of a 121 carrier as a required crew member ever again. You cannot deny that he must accept part of the responsibility for this crash. After all, it was the crew that pushed the thrust levers forward that morning, not anyone else.

No one on here is perfect. I guarantee everyone on here has broken a reg, talked during sterile cockpit, blasted off without synching the heading bug, etc. etc. Everyone on here is lucky though because when we did all those things, it did not cause a fatal accident. When it does, I do not think it's realistic to expect a return to passenger flying for a 121 carrier. It doesn't mean I'm not pulling for the guy...I just don't see it happening.

 

I believe that if I were to crash it would be for something utterly stupid.
Wrong DME selected for an appproach, or mistaking a "postion and hold" call for "cleared for T/O". In my eyes it's these everyday, mudane items that would be expected from a student pilot. These small obvious items that lurk in the background waiting for a chance to present itself.

 

Yes the pilots did make a mistake. However there were other factors...lights being inop, the pilots did not recieve the notam. Construction that was not notamed. Etc. Would you of made the same mistake? No one can say for sure that they would not have.

 

Why the devil are we spending ANY money on baseball hearings?

 

And unlike the doctor, he is risking his own life as well.

 

good point... i was at LEX about 3 weeks before the crash and the runways are very confusing at the end they were at.....it was the middle of the day and i had to double check the airport diagram twice to make shure.... anyone could have made that mistake after becoming complacent..... gotta have sympathy for this guy....hope he gets back into aviation if thats what he wants to do

 

We occasionally have some of our skydiving planes in and out of Lex, I encountered the same thing you did about a week prior to the accident ferrying one over to Frankfort. I can see how easy it was for them to make this mistake...

 

right on man....i was watching cnn when the first report of the crash came in.....when they showed the diagram of where the plane impacted in relation to the airport i knew exactly what happened well before the cause of the crash was reported....a truly sick feeling knowing i could have easily done the same

 

Of course there were other factors. Pilots don't just up and decide to blast off the wrong runway for no apparent reason. That's the whole point of a mistake, they thought they were doing the right thing and they weren't. Was it avoidable? Maybe, maybe not. For them; that day in that airplane at that airport it appears that it wasn't. The only point is, for those pilots on that day in that airplane at that airport, a mistake occurred that cost 49 people their lives. It sucks for everyone involved and while I wish the FO the best of luck on his recovery, I don't think it's realistic to expect to return to a Part 121 carrier. However, I've been proven wrong in the past.

At the end of the day, there was a variety of factors contributing to this accident. Some of it was the controller. Some of it was the airport. However, you can't really count out the pilot factor here. After all, the controller and the airport weren't sitting at the controls.