Dozens dead in US plance crash

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

The Comair flight, with 50 on board, ditched into a field a mile from Lexington’s airport in Kentucky, the Federal Aviation Administration said. So far it seemed only one person had survived.

Comair Flight 5191, a CRJ-200 regional jet with 47 passengers and three crew members, crashed at 6.07am (1107 BST) after taking off for Atlanta, said Kathleen Bergen, an FAA spokeswoman.

There was no immediate word on what caused the crash in a field about a mile from Blue Grass Airport. The plane was largely intact afterward, but there was a fire following the impact, police said.

The University of Kentucky hospital is treating one survivor, who is in a critical condition, spokesman Jay Blanton said. No other survivors have been brought to the hospital, he said.

Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said the passengers and crew appeared to still be on the plane and the deaths were caused either by the impact or the “hot fire” on board.

“We are going to say a mass prayer before we begin the work of removing the bodies,” Ginn said, referring to the chaplains who serve the airport.

A temporary morgue is being set up at the scene and the bodies will be brought to the state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort, Kentucky, Ginn said.

Investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were en route to the scene, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

The airport closed for three hours after the crash.

Comair is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines based in the Cincinnati suburb of Erlanger, Kentucky.

The Bombardier Canadair is a twin-engine aircraft that can carry up to 50 passengers, according to Delta’s website.