[Breaking News] Plane carrying 50 crashes in Kentucky; one known survivor

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/27/plane.crash/index.html

(CNN) -- A Delta commuter flight carrying 50 people crashed Sunday morning shortly after take-off from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, according to airport and airline officials. One person is known to have survived.

The commuter flight was en route from Blue Grass Airport to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown told CNN.

One passenger was being treated at the University of Kentucky Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, according to hospital spokeswoman Gail Hairston.

There were 46 passengers, three crew members and one off-duty crew member on Delta Flight 5191 -- operated by Delta's commuter carrier, Comair, according to Michael Gobb, director of the Blue Grass Airport.

Gobb said it is still unclear how many people perished in the crash because "search operations are still going on."

Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn told The Associated Press that 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 was being set up at the scene and the bodies will be brought to the state medical examiner's office in Frankfort, Ginn told AP.

Initial reports from first responders had indicated all 50 people on board died in the crash, Brown told CNN.

The plane crashed a mile from the airport shortly after take-off, the FAA said.

The aircraft was a Bombardier Canadian Regional Jet, which has a good track record, according to its history on the National Transportation Safety Board's Web site.

Flight 5191 was cleared for takeoff at 6:05 a.m. ET, which was the last communication between the pilot and air traffic controllers, FAA officials said.

The plane crashed at 6:19 a.m. ET, about a mile west of the airport, FAA officials said.

The plane was scheduled to land in Atlanta at 7:18 a.m. ET.

It is unclear what caused the crash. There were no reports of bad weather in the Lexington area.

"It was dark at the time of the accident, but it was clear," Brown said.

A team of National Transportation Safety Board investigators is heading to the crash site to begin an investigation.

CNN's Mike Ahlers contributed to this report.