The lone US air traffic controller on duty the morning Comair Flight 5191 crashed had cleared the jet for takeoff, then turned his back to do some “administrative duties” as the aircraft veered down the wrong runway, a federal investigator said in Kentucky.

Investigators in Kentucky, probing a weekend plane crash in which 49 people were killed, were today trying to determine why the commuter aircraft used a runway that was too short for take-off.

A commuter jet was on the wrong runway when it crashed just after take-off today and burst into flames, killing 49 people and leaving the lone survivor – a co-pilot – in a critical condition.

Dozens of people died today when a passenger plane crashed into a field after take-off.

Three-times Kentucky Derby winning jockey Gary Stevens is to partner Johannesburg in Saturday’s ‘‘Run For The Roses’’ and Jerry Bailey is to ride the other Aidan O’Brien-trained candidate Castle Gandolfo.