US News
Forty-nine reported dead in Kentucky plane crash (1st Update)
By DPA
Aug 27, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Washington - A Delta airlines commuter jet crashed shortly after takeoff at Lexington, Kentucky on Sunday, with one media report saying 49 persons had been killed, with one survivor.

The television network ABC cited local authorities as saying one survivor had been recovered and was taken to the hospital, but that the 49 other persons on board had perished.

An earlier report by the TV news network CNN had cited Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials as saying that all 50 persons on board the plane - 47 passengers and three crew - had been killed.

The plane had just taken off from Lexington's Blue Grass Airport on a flight to Atlanta, Georgia, when it went down in a wooded area about a mile (1.6 kilometres) from the airport.

The 50-seat commuter plane - a Bombardier Canadian Regional Jet (CRJ) 100 - was operated by Delta's commuter carrier, Comair.

Weather conditions were about normal at the time of the crash, officials noted. In the past few days there had been several thunderstorms in the area, but by Sunday the weather had settled down.