Controller in Ky. Crash on Two Hours Sleep

The lone Kentucky air traffic controller working when a Comair commuter plane crashed after take-off was working on just two hours of sleep, investigators say.

The unidentified controller told National Transportation Safety Board members he had slept two hours between Saturday and Sunday shifts at Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport tower, the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader reported.

The 17-year veteran cleared Comair Flight 5191 for takeoff at 6:07 a.m. Sunday, then turned to do administrative duties, the NTSB said this week.

The aircraft lined up on the wrong runway, which was too short, and crashed less than a minute later, killing 49 of the 50 people aboard.

NTSB spokeswoman Debbie Hersman said investigators are trying to pinpoint exactly how many different tasks the controller was performing at the time.

The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged their own rules say there should have been two controllers in the tower at the time of the crash.