US News
One survivor, 49 dead in Kentucky plane crash (Roundup)
By DPA
Aug 27, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Washington - A Delta airlines commuter jet crashed shortly after takeoff at Lexington, Kentucky early Sunday, killing 49 persons and sparing one survivor.

Don Bornhorst, president of the Comair subsidiary that operated the commuter plane, said in broadcast remarks that the plane was carrying 50 people, including three crew members. The pilot had been with the company for seven years.

He declined to identify whether the survivor, who was being treated at University of Kentucky Hospital, was a passenger or crew member.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokeswoman, Laura Brown, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) headquarters were expected to arrive in Kentucky before noon local time. Local investigators had already started their work, she said.

The plane had just taken off from Lexington's Blue Grass Airport on a flight to Atlanta, Georgia, at 6:07 am when it went down in a wooded area on a farm about a mile (1.6 kilometres) from the airport.

Weather conditions were about normal at the time of the crash. It was clear but dark, Brown said. In the past few days there had been several thunderstorms in the area, but by Sunday the weather had settled down.

Bornhorst said the accident happened about half a mile after the end of the runway. Eyewitnesses were quoted by Cable News Network as saying there had been a huge explosion, but it wasn't clear if it happened mid-air or upon crashing.

The 50-seat commuter plane - a Bombardier Canadian Regional Jet (CRJ) 100 - was operated by Delta's commuter carrier, Comair. Bornhorst said it had been bought new from Bombardier in 2001, and maintenance was up to date - the latest check had been on Saturday.

'The airline industry has its risks,' a visibly shaken Bornhorst said. He said the crash had been 'emotionally devastating' for all concerned.