Delta Air Lines Inc. cannot expect to lean on Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for relief from tort claims against it in the wake of Sunday’s crash in Kentucky that killed 49 passengers and crew members. And the airline could face up to $490 million in damages, one attorney said.
Comair Flight 5191, bound for Atlanta from Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport, crashed at 6:19 a.m. in a nearby horse farm field. A National Transportation Safety Board official confirmed Sunday night the commuter jet’s pilots took off from the wrong runway, one that was too short for the plane to gain sufficient altitude to avoid clipping trees at the end of the runway.
