A Comair jet carrying about 50 people crashed today shortly after takeoff in Lexington, Kentucky.
"Preliminary reports from first-responders was that there were 50 fatalities," Federal Aviation Authority spokeswoman Laura Brown said on CNN. She said there had been 47 passengers and three crew aboard the plane.
Local media reported one person, believed to be a crew member, survived the crash and was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.
Flight 5191, a 52-seat Bombardier Canadair CRJ-100 jet operated by Comair had taken off from Blue Grass Airport, bound for Atlanta.
A local television station reported the plane may have taken off from the wrong runway, without citing a source.
It was not raining at the time of the crash and visibility was 8 miles. A National Transportation Safety Board team was en route to the crash site, she said.
Comair is a unit of Delta Airlines.