Instructors Testify Flight 5191 Crew Erred Before Crash

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Court documents filed in the case of a
Lexington jet crash last year show that a Comair pilot instructor
testified that the pilots of Flight 5191 would have failed a flight
test the day of the crash.
Flight 5191 crashed last August 27th, killing 49 of the 50
people on board.
Comair Captain Thomas Scharold testified in a deposition that
the Flight 5191 pilots violated briefing, taxi and "sterile
cockpit" rules, which say that pilots should maintain a
distraction-free cockpit. Scharold is a line check pilot, a veteran
pilot who trains other pilots.
Scharold said if he had been instructing Flight 5191's pilots,
he would not have let them take off.
Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx says the depositions were
extensive, and the instructors' comments shouldn't be taken out of
context.
Excerpts of the depositions are included in a court brief filed
Tuesday. Attorney Tom Halbleib said Blue Grass Airport is
responding to allegations made by Comair.