Kentucky airport taxi route had been altered

Intact but in flames
Aerial images of the latest crash site in the rolling hills of Kentucky’s horse country showed trees damaged at the end of the short runway and the nose of the plane almost parallel to the small strip.

When rescuers reached it, the plane was largely intact but in flames. “They were taking off, so I’m sure they had a lot of fuel on board,” Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said. “Most of the injuries are going to be due to fire-related deaths.”

Those killed included a newlywed couple starting their honeymoon, a director of Habitat for Humanity International, and a Florida man who had caught an early flight home to be with his children.

Most of the passengers aboard the flight had planned to connect to other flights in Atlanta and did not have family waiting for them, said the Rev. Harold Boyce, a volunteer chaplain at the airport.

The crew members who died were Capt. Jeffrey Clay, who was hired in 1999, and flight attendant Kelly Heyer, hired in 2004. Polehinke has been with Comair since 2002.

The plane had undergone routine maintenance as recently as Saturday and had 14,500 flight hours, “consistent with aircraft of that age,” Bornhorst said.

Jon Hooker, a former minor-league baseball player, and Scarlett Parsley had wed the night before the crash in a fairy-tale ceremony complete with a horse-drawn carriage and 300 friends.

“It’s so tragic because he was so happy last night,” said Keith Madison, who coached Hooker’s baseball team at the University of Kentucky and attended the wedding. “It’s just an incredible turn of events. It’s really painful.”

Pat Smith, a member of Habitat for Humanity International’s Board of Directors, died on his way to Gulfport, Miss., to work on rebuilding houses, Habitat spokesman Duane Bates said.

Another passenger, Charles Lykins of Naples, Fla., caught an early flight Sunday so he could get home to his two young children after visiting friends and family in the Lexington area, said friend Paul Richardson.

Comair is a feeder carrier for Delta Air Lines. Both are restructuring in bankruptcy.

MORE FROM LIFE

Life Section Front

Wildfire burns 750 acres near Los Angeles National Debt Clock runs out of numbers San Francisco district seeks recognition Holocaust survivors share love story   45 slices of pizza ... in 10 minutes Card collection includes 6,356 decks Ohio shooting puts face on foreclosure crisis 5 killed in Manhattan blaze Wildfire threatens homes, wineries in Napa Atlanta Jews remember 'bomb that healed' Life Section Front   Add Life headlines to your news reader: