With the events of today, I just wanted to check in and see how you were.

Just lettin ya know I'm thinkin about ya.

Murray, Thanks so much for checking in. I'm very upset. My d just flew yesterday- less than 24 hours ago, back to school, on the very same type of plane. Everytime one of these planes go down, particularly this close to the anniversary of the tragedy, I die a little more inside. How horrible for the surviving family members. What a terrible tragedy.

Barbara

Made even worse by the facts that are coming out. If it's true that they took off on the wrong runway .... wow I would have never saw that coming in a million years. I play Microsoft Flight Simulator a lot and those pilots have to obtain clearance which means they hear the runway once, and then they read their clearance back so that they say it AND the traffic controller hears them. Then they contact the ground control and get clearance from them. Something really screwy must have happened.

They couldn't have been farmilliar with the airport.
I'll be very interested to see the NTSB's report on this crash.

Well Murray, it sure looks like you're right. It certainly will be interesting to see that report. Looks like there was a big screw-up.

Barbara



By JEFFREY McMURRAY, Associated Press Writer
7 minutes ago



LEXINGTON, Ky. - A commuter jet was on the wrong runway when it crashed just after takeoff early Sunday and burst into flames, killing 49 people and leaving the lone survivor "” a co-pilot "” in critical condition, federal investigators said.

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Preliminary data from the Comair Flight 5191's data records and the damage at the scene indicate the plane took off from Blue Grass Airport's shortest runway, a 3,500-foot-long strip not intended for commercial flights, National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersmann said.

"We will be looking into performance data, we will be looking at the weight of the aircraft, we will be looking at speeds, we will pull at that information off and we will be looking at all that," Hersmann said.

The Atlanta-bound plane was largely intact but in flames when rescuers reached it. A police officer burned his arms dragging the only survivor from the cracked cockpit, but the fire kept rescuers from reaching anyone else.

"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."

The crash was the country's worst domestic airplane accident in nearly five years.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency had no indication that terrorism was involved in any way. Both flight recorders, which should help investigators determine what went wrong, were sent to Washington, D.C., for analysis.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060827/ap_on_re_us/kentucky_crash

Yeah CNN said they confirmed it was on the wrong runway from 2 sources and I trust CNN so I figured that was it.

Now whether that was the cause or not, is just a really educated guess. The "good" news if you can call it that is that the survivor was the Co-Pilot. If he does go on to survive he'll be able to tell what happened on the flight deck which may determine the exact cause quicker and allow the families closure sooner. As I recall you guys had to wait something like 2 years to get the final report didn't you?

Murray, I think the report came out in '03, 5 years after the tragedy, which happened in '98.

ok I was a bit off.

Sorry.

Murray, That's ok- it was just an incredibly long investigation and also the investigators seemed very concerned that the information from it not be used in the lawsuits. I have a lot of feelings about the whole thing, but I guess there is no sense in getting into that now. All I really care about is that I wish my daughter were still alive. I can't believe that it will be 8 years in the next few days. Really shocking.

If you'd like to hear some good news for a change they started working on the foundation for our house last monday (21st) so we should be home within the next couple (hopefully) or few (probably) weeks.

Murray, I needed to hear good news tonight. I am so happy for you and your family! Thanks so much for telling me that.

I also received an email from an extremely nice young person who has kept in touch with me throughout the 8 years since Tara was killed. She told me that she graduated 1st in her class, just this past June. People don't realize that sharing any happiness is really appreciated.

Please keep me updated, and I wish you and your family the best. It looks like things are looking up for you!

Barbara

I'm going down to the city tomorrow to check on the progress.

Murray, how is it going? Anything new to report?

Barbara

I saw the foundation. It was nothing like I thought it was going to look like and I was pissed cuz I thought this could be another freakin delay, but I talked to some construction types on the net and they explained to me how it could work.

I'm just counting the seconds until I can get out of here. It's like having a brain enema

Murray, Glad to hear that things are progressing! It's about time your family get a break! Hopefully you will be able to put this whole nightmare behind you soon.

Barbara

As for you, I hope you have lots of support around you going in to tomorrow.

Thanks Murray, I appreciate you thinking about me. My mother is visiting to help me get through this 8th anniversary of the tragedy, as well as my 30th wedding anniversary on September 11th. Here's hoping that next year is better for both you and me. I'm so tired of having all this sadness and loss in my life. I wish Tara were here.

Hope things go well for you and your family over the next few weeks, and that you are in your home soon. September is certainly a sad month.

Barbara

I used to think so too when I was a kid getting set to go back to school.

Seriously though, I'm with you on the whole "hopefully things get better" front. I want to get my life going again, It's like it's been on pause since the day of the fire.

Murray, Anything new with your situation? I'm so glad that September 2nd is over even though the sadness of the loss is everyday. Hope things are looking up for you.

Barbara

Yup, estimate is we'll be home by the 15th of September. I hope so, in fact I hope sooner. I want out of here THE DAY we're allowed in the new place, Hell I'd sleep on the floor if I had to.

Hope you're in there by then!

Barbara