Friday marks 15 years since deadly Atlanta-bound Comair plane crash

ATLANTA — Friday marks a grim anniversary for dozens of families who lost loved ones in a plane crash exactly 15 years ago.

Comair Flight 5191, marketed as Delta Connection Flight 5191, was scheduled to take off from Lexington, Kentucky to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Aug. 27, 2006.

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Investigators said that because of a mix-up, the plane took off from the wrong runway at Blue Grass Airport, which was too short.

“You’ve got all those glowing dials and gauges, and you’re working with it and you turn in the direction that you think you are supposed to be and you suppress the clues in your mind that tell you otherwise,” said John Nance, an ABC News aviation consultant.

The plane crashed into trees and the ground.

The plane, fully loaded with fuel, broke apart and burst into flames in a field. Forty-nine of the 50 passengers were killed in the crash.

The lone survivor, 44-year-old James M. Polehinke, was the first officer for the flight. A Lexington police officer was one of the first to the crash site and pulled Polehinke from the aircraft, which was largely intact but engulfed in flames.

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“There’s nothing that can prepare you for something like this,” Officer Bryan Jared said in the days following the crash.

Polehinke suffered serious injuries, including multiple broken bones, brain damage and a leg amputation.

According to a coroner, most of those killed likely died in the fire.

Among the victims was former major league baseball player Jon Hooker and his new bride. They were married Saturday and were on their way to their honeymoon.

Flight 5191 victims from WKYT-TV.

• Rebecca Adams
• Lyle Orvill Anderson
• Christina Anderson
• Arnold P. Andrews
• Anne Marie Bailey
• Bobbie Benton
• Clark Benton
• Carole R. Bizzack
• George Brunacini
• Brian C. Byrd
• Jeffrey Clay
• Diane Combs
• Homer Combs
• Fenton Dawson
• Thomas Fahey
• Mike Finley
• Clarence Wayne Fortney II
• W. Bartley Frederick
• Hollie Gilbert
• Erik Harris
• Kelly James Heyer
• Jonathan Hooker
• Scarlett Parsely Hooker
• Pricilla Johnson
• Nahoko Kono
• Tetsuya Kono
• Charles M. Lykins
• Dan Mallory
• Steve McElravy
• Lynda McKee
• Robert I. Meaux
• Kaye Craig Morris
• Leslie W. Morris II
• Cecile Moscoe
• Judy Ann Rains
• Michael Ryan
• Mary Jane Silas
• Patrick Hogan Smith
• Timothy K. Snoddy
• Marcie Reynolds Thomason
• Gregory Alan Threet
• Randy D. Towles
• Larry W. Turner
• Victoria Washington
• Jeff Williams
• Paige Michelle Winters
• Bryan Woodward
• JoAnn Wright
• Betty Butler Young

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Information from the Associated Press and ABC News was used in this report

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