[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17184-17186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES TO FAMILIES, FRIENDS, AND LOVED ONES OF VICTIMS 
                     OF CRASH OF COMAIR FLIGHT 5191

  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 980) expressing condolences to the families, 
friends, and loved ones of the victims of the crash of Comair Flight 
5191, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 980

       Whereas the people of Kentucky, including the citizens of 
     the 6th Congressional District, have experienced a terrible 
     tragedy with the loss of 49 lives in the crash of Comair 
     Flight 5191 at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, on 
     August 27, 2006;
       Whereas many of the victims of the crash were residents of 
     Kentucky, particularly of the small, close-knit town of 
     Lexington and other surrounding communities; and
       Whereas Federal, State, and local officials have cooperated 
     not only at the crash site but throughout Kentucky and the 
     Nation to respond to the emergency, investigate the accident, 
     and provide assistance to families devastated by the loss of 
     loved ones: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses condolences to the families, friends, and 
     loved ones of the victims of the crash of Comair Flight 5191;
       (2) honors the victims of the crash: Rebecca Adams, 
     Christina Anderson, Lyle Anderson, Arnold Andrews, Anne Marie 
     Bailey, Bobbie Benton, Jesse Clark Benton, Carole Bizzack, 
     George Brunacini, Brian Byrd, Jeffrey Clay, Homer Combs, 
     Diane Combs, Fenton Dawson, Thomas Fahey, Mike Finley, 
     Clarence Wayne ``C.W.'' Fortney II, Wade Bartley ``Bart'' 
     Frederick, Hollie Gilbert, Erik Harris, Kelly Heyer, Jonathan 
     Hooker, Scarlett Parsley Hooker, Priscilla Johnson, Tetsuya 
     Kono, Nahoko Kono, Charles Lykins, Dan Mallory, Steve 
     McElravy, Lynda McKee, Bobby Meaux, Leslie Morris II, Kaye 
     Craig Morris, Cecile Moscoe, Judy Ann Rains, Michael Ryan, 
     Mary Jane Silas, Pat Smith, Tim Snoddy, Marcie Thomason, Greg 
     Threet, Randy Towles, Larry Turner, Victoria Washington, Jeff 
     Williams, Paige Winters, Bryan Woodward, JoAnn Wright, and 
     Betty Young;
       (3) expresses sympathies to the people of Lexington, the 
     entire Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the Nation who grieve 
     for the victims;
       (4) commends the heroic actions of the rescue workers at 
     the crash site who retrieved copilot James M. Polehinke from 
     the wreckage; and
       (5) commends the Federal, State, and local officials and 
     the volunteers who worked together to respond to the tragedy 
     with courage, determination, and skill.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Mica) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Chandler) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on House Resolution 980.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of this resolution today 
that is being introduced by my good friend and colleague from Kentucky 
(Mr. Chandler).
  This resolution, H. Res. 980, expresses condolences to the families, 
friends, and loved ones of the victims of the August 27, 2006, aircraft 
accident of Flight 5191, which took place in Lexington, Kentucky. There 
were 50 people on board Flight 5191, including passengers and crew, 
with one individual surviving the crash, Copilot James Polehinke, who 
is currently recovering, and we wish him Godspeed in his recovery.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to say that my heartfelt sympathy goes out to the 
victims and to each and every one of their families, friends, and loved 
ones. Losing a loved one is always very tragic, but I think it is 
compounded when such a loss is the result of an unfortunate and 
unforeseen situation. I am hopeful that this resolution will in some 
small way help to comfort the families and friends of all those who 
lost their lives on Flight 5191.
  Mr. Speaker, as Chair of the House Aviation Subcommittee, I want to 
assure the traveling public and my colleagues that the National 
Transportation Safety Board is now and will continue to thoroughly 
investigate every aspect of this accident. Any presumption on the cause 
or causes of this accident at this stage are purely speculative, and at 
this time I think it should be definitely left to the professional 
investigative abilities of the

[[Page 17185]]

NTSB. It is their responsibility in fact to determine the circumstances 
and cause, and they will report back to Congress.
  I can also assure the families, the public, and Members of Congress 
that those charged with the investigation of this tragedy will not rest 
until the cause of this aviation crash has been finally determined.
  While even the loss of one life in an aviation accident is 
unacceptable, the public should know, Members of Congress should know, 
and those who travel should know that our commercial airlines today are 
both safe and also reliable. Since 2001, more than 4 billion passengers 
have flown safely on U.S. commercial airliners with the lowest fatality 
accident rate in history.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that on a typical weekday, just 
one day like today, there are an average of some 33,000 commercial 
airline takeoffs and landings at airports of general aviation across 
the country, and almost all of them, again with large commercial 
aircraft since November 12, 2001, have done so safely. Despite this 
amazing safety record, I wish we all lived in a world where we could 
eliminate all accidents and all risks. While I do not believe that we 
can do that, I do sincerely believe that we can continue to work 
together to do everything humanly possible to avoid these types of 
accidents in the future.
  Again, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to the families, 
friends, and loved ones of the victims on board Flight 5191, also to 
Mr. Chandler, a good friend and distinguished colleague from Kentucky, 
and his constituents. He told me he lost a number of personal friends 
and a large number of constituents in this unfortunate aviation 
tragedy. Again, my condolences to all affected.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1630

  Mr. CHANDLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to first thank my friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) for his good wishes and for his 
efforts as chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee to help with promoting 
safety in the air throughout this country. I appreciate those efforts 
very much, and I appreciate his help with this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart for Kentuckians who have 
tragically lost their lives and for loved ones who have been left 
behind to pick up the pieces.
  On August 27, 2006, Comair Flight 5191 crashed upon take off at Blue 
Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49 of the 50 people 
aboard. Twenty-eight of the victims lived in the district I represent, 
and several other passengers were fellow Kentuckians. Fathers and 
mothers, daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, 
all perished in the worst plane crash this country has seen since 2001.
  The small, close-knit town of Lexington and the surrounding 
communities of Central Kentucky will forever be changed by the scenes 
from early that Sunday morning and by the sudden loss of family, 
friends, neighbors and community leaders. Almost everyone in central 
Kentucky knew someone on that plane. The loss is a community loss, but 
also a profoundly personal loss for those of us who remain.
  I am here today to honor the victims of this horrible crash by urging 
this body to pass House Resolution 980, expressing the condolences of 
this body to all who grieve during this time and commending all of 
those who responded to this tragedy with courage and determination.
  It is also important that today we remember copilot James Polehinke, 
who was the only person on board who survived the tragedy. He is 
currently recovering, and we certainly wish him the very best.
  Mr. Speaker, I am sure there will come a day when this body will 
address the causes of this tragedy, particularly if there are measures 
to be taken to prevent future accidents. At this time, however, the 
thing we must do is memorialize those that we have lost.
  All of Kentucky is still grieving as families continue to say goodbye 
to loved ones. The following are the victims whose lives were cut short 
by this horrible tragedy:
  Rebecca Adams; Christina Anderson; Lyle Anderson; Arnold Andrews; 
Anne Marie Bailey; Bobbie Benton; Jesse Clark Benton; Carol Bizzack; 
George Brunacini; Brian Byrd; Jeffrey Clay; Homer Combs; Diane Combs; 
Fenton Dawson; Thomas Fahey; Mike Finley; Clarence Wayne ``C.W.'' 
Fortney, II; Wade Bartley ``Bart'' Frederick; Hollie Gilbert; Erik 
Harris; Kelly Heyer; Jonathan Hooker; Scarlett Parsley Hooker; 
Priscilla Johnson; Tetsuya Kono; Nahoko Kono; Charles Lykins; Dan 
Mallory; Steve McElravy; Linda McKee; Bobby Meaux; Leslie Morris, II; 
Kaye Craig Morris; Cecile Moscoe; Judy Ann Rains; Michael Ryan; Mary 
Jane Silas; Pat Smith; Tim Snoddy; Marcie Thomason; Greg Threet; Randy 
Towles; Larry Turner; Victoria Washington; Jeff Williams; Paige 
Winters; Bryan Woodward; JoAnn Wright; and Betty Young.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge this body to honor these victims by 
passing H. Res. 980.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to extend my condolences to all the 
family, friends and loved ones of those who lost their loved ones on 
Flight 5191 in Lexington, Kentucky.
  I also want to express my condolences to Mr. Chandler. Mr. Chandler 
is a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I 
particularly want to again thank him for the way he has handled himself 
in this matter.
  Mr. Chandler has been a spokesperson for those who have lost their 
loved ones in this tragedy. He has also yielded to appropriate manners 
of resolution to determine what caused this crash, and I appreciate his 
leadership on the committee and on this issue.
  It is critical that we do find the cause of aviation crashes and 
incidents and that we take preventative measures, and that is something 
that has been very much my intention as chairman of the Aviation 
Subcommittee. In fact, we have changed some procedures to accomplish 
that goal.
  One of the provisions of the law that we changed now requires NTSB to 
continue corrective measures. In the past the NTSB would investigate 
these accidents. A recommendation would be made, findings would be 
made, but they just sort of stayed on the shelf. That is no longer the 
case. Today recommendations from these accidents are not left on the 
shelf, where causes and risks would not be addressed. Recommendations 
now must be followed through and brought back to the Congress and 
measures taken to correct any of the errors or institute appropriate 
remedies that are recommended by the NTSB.
  Again, I am pleased that Mr. Chandler comes before the House today to 
remember those lost in this incident and that he has also been 
supportive of having the NTSB thoroughly investigate this crash. We 
give assurances to the loved ones and others that due course and due 
process will be followed and a full review and determination of the 
cause of this horrible aviation accident and tragedy will be made so 
that we will know how to prevent similar accidents in the future, and 
we will be able to correct these deficiencies.
  Again, to Mr. Chandler, to all those who suffered loss, we extend our 
condolences, and I ask the House to concur in adoption of House 
Resolution 980, sponsored by the gentleman.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 980, 
which formally expresses Congress' condolences to the families and 
friends of the 49 passengers who perished in the August 27, 2006 crash 
of Conair Flight 5191 at the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky.
  H. Res. 980 not only expresses the condolences for the lives lost, 
but also honors those rescue workers and personnel at the crash site, 
as well as the Federal, State and local officials who worked together 
to respond to the unfolding tragedy.

[[Page 17186]]

  While we will not know the probable cause of the Conair crash until 
the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, completes its 
investigation, serious questions have been raised regarding the Federal 
Aviation Administration's, FAA, air traffic control staffing policies. 
The FAA confirmed that the air traffic control tower at the Blue Grass 
Airport was understaffed at the time of the accident.
  Mr. Speaker, air traffic controllers are essential to the safe 
operation of our nation's air traffic system, and the effectiveness of 
controllers requires proper staffing levels at each facility.
  Inadequate staffing during periods of low traffic is not a new 
problem. It was reported that in November 2005, an overloaded 
controller at the Raleigh, North Carolina airport directed two planes 
too close to one another, and this close call prompted the FAA to issue 
guidance forbidding air traffic controllers with certain 
responsibilities from working alone.
  After the Lexington accident, the FAA stated that some air traffic 
control towers responsible for surface traffic also separate airborne 
aircraft using radar equipment, contrary to FAA guidance to provide 
individual controllers for the radar and control tower functions. It is 
not clear whether this guidance is written or verbal. The FAA statement 
further indicates that this guidance was not followed at the Lexington 
tower where the manager decided to have one controller handle both 
functions during the overnight shift. Moreover, further investigation 
has revealed that the Lexington tower was not an anomaly; other tower 
managers across the country routinely chose not to staff their towers 
adequately, and the FAA was either unaware of these deviations or 
unwilling to crack down until after the Lexington tragedy.
  The FAA's inconsistency in applying its own controller staffing 
policy is very troubling. That is why Representatives Costello, 
Chandler and I have requested that the Department of Transportation's 
Inspector General, IG, investigate how widely the staffing experience 
at the Blue Grass Airport is practiced at other air traffic control 
facilities across the Nation and determine the extent to which the 
towers covered by the guidance are complying with it. Importantly, we 
have requested that the IG investigate the steps that FAA undertook 
after the Raleigh incident to review staffing at its facilities to 
determine if the facilities were complying with the guidance, and to 
require compliance if they were not.
  While it will be some time before the NTSB completes its 
investigation into the probable causes of the Conair Flight 5191 crash, 
we should waste no time in ensuring that the FAA consistently applies 
its controller staffing policies across our Nation's air traffic 
control towers.
  Finally, and most importantly, Mr. Speaker, I want to express my 
condolences to the families and friends of the Flight 5191 passengers, 
and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support this 
resolution expressing condolences to the families, friends, and loved 
ones of the victims of the crash of Comair Flight 5191.
  It should come as a sobering fact that this is the worst aviation 
crash our country has seen since 2001. The crash occurred on Comair 
Flight 5191 upon take-off at 6:07 am at Blue Grass Airport, in 
Lexington, KY. The flight was en route to Atlanta, GA.
  All but one of the 50 people on board, including passengers and crew, 
died. The only individual who survived the crash, copilot James M. 
Polehinke, is recovering at Chandler Medical Center, in Lexington, 
Kentucky, and we wish him a speedy recovery.
  Many individuals and entities who responded to the disaster acted 
nobly, cooperatively, and admirably. Federal, state, and local 
officials and volunteers were soon on the scene, and I applaud their 
efforts.
  However, this was clearly a mistake, and an accident that should 
never have occurred. We desperately need adequate and rigorous 
oversight to ensure the operational safety of every commercial flight 
in this country. Air control towers across the country are currently 
short-staffed. Since September 2003, the number of air traffic 
controllers has plummeted from 15,386 to 14,305 in August 2006. 
Moreover, at the time of this tragic accident, there was only one air 
traffic controller present, which is a violation of FAA guidelines 
which mandate at least two air traffic controllers be present.
  At the heart of every oversight issue is inevitably a funding issue 
Funds must be provided and managed effectively and efficiently in order 
to make sure that there exists a sufficient level of trained air 
traffic controllers ensuring the safety of air travel.
  I offer my sympathy to the good citizens of Kentucky, and I join Mr. 
Chandler in mourning those lost and honoring their memory. I encourage 
my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my 
colleague from Kentucky's Sixth Congressional District, Ben Chandler, 
in support of his resolution expressing our deep sorrow and condolences 
to the families, friends, and loved ones who are grappling with the 
loss of 49 lives in an early morning August 27, 2006 plane crash--
Comair Flight 5191.
  The passengers on board Flight 5191 represented the rich diversity 
and commitment to community emblematic of the Commonwealth. A horse 
trainer, a UK faculty member, the wife of an East Kentucky University 
Board Member, newlyweds. A business leader, a youth basketball coach, a 
technology innovator, and a young father.
  Mr. Speaker, all of Kentucky grieves with these families realizing 
their tremendous loss of a brother, a husband, a sister, a daughter, 
and our tremendous loss in our community of leaders. I specifically 
want to recognize my constituents Mike Finley, Hollie Gilbert, John and 
Scarlett Parsley Hooker, and Marcie Thomason and extend my heartfelt 
sympathy to their families. Their commitment to southern and eastern 
Kentucky created jobs and opportunities for young people, helped keep 
kids in positive pursuits by modeling hard work and supporting our 
communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to join my colleagues in commending 
federal, state, and local officials who cooperated not only at the 
crash site, but throughout Kentucky to respond to the emergency, 
investigate the accident, and provide assistance to families devastated 
by the loss of loved ones.
  On behalf of the entire congressional delegation from Kentucky, we 
offer our most sincere condolences to the families of the victims and 
all those that were affected.
  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Comair 
Flight 5191 and I join my colleagues in support of H. Res. 980. My 
deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers are with the families and 
friends of the victims of this tragic event that occurred in Lexington, 
Kentucky.
  It is little solace to them that we have the safest air 
transportation system in the world, or that we had not had a major 
fatal accident in five years. Along with our support of this 
resolution, what Congress must do to honor these victims is to learn 
everything we can from this accident to try to prevent similar events 
in the future. Their lives will be remembered in the work we do here. 
As the ranking Democrat on the Aviation subcommittee, I am committed to 
making sure this happens. The National Transportation Safety Board is 
conducting a thorough investigation of this accident, and I fully 
support its efforts, along with those of the Federal Aviation 
Administration and the Inspector General of the Department of 
Transportation.
  Mr. Speaker, I again remember those that lost their lives in this 
accident and offer my condolences to their loved ones. I also urge my 
colleagues to support H. Res. 980.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) that the House suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution, H. Res. 980.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________