Plane crash survivor saved by police officer, 2 airport workers

<p>A policeman who reached the burning wreckage of Comair Flight 5191 burned his arms as he pulled the plane's first officer from the broken cockpit, but he couldn't get to anyone else, officials said Sunday.</p><p>The first officer, James M. Polehinke, was the only survivor of the crash Sunday morning just beyond Lexington's Blue Grass Airport that killed 49 people.</p><p>Polehinke, 44, was in critical condition in the intensive care unit after surgery at the University of Kentucky hospital.</p><p>"He's very lucky," said Dr. Andrew C. Bernard, a trauma surgeon.</p><p>Lexington Police Officer Bryan Jared and two airport officers, John Sallee and James "Pete" Maupin, reached the wreckage within minutes of the crash, said airport executive director Michael Gobb and Lexington Police Chief Anthony Beatty.</p><p>"They approached a burning aircraft to actually pull the first officer out of the broken cockpit," Gobb said. Jared burned both of his arms in the process, he said.</p><p>The plane crashed in a field just beyond the airport's shorter, 3,500-foot runway, not typically used by commercial planes. Everyone else aboard the plane died in the fire, Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said.</p><p>Comair President Don Bornhorst confirmed the first officer's identity and said the company had talked with their families. He said Polehinke had been with Comair since 2002.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/8/118068