The people aboard Comair Flight 5191, which tragically crashed throughout takeoff from Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport on August 27, 2006, signify a profound loss. Forty-nine lives had been misplaced, together with passengers and crew, with just one survivor, the First Officer, who sustained severe accidents. This occasion underscores the essential significance of aviation security and the devastating impression such accidents have on households and communities.
The incident prompted vital investigations by the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB), resulting in essential modifications in airport runway lighting and operational procedures. The NTSB’s ultimate report highlighted the pilots’ try to take off from a runway that was too quick, in addition to fatigue as a contributing issue. This disaster served as a catalyst for improved security rules throughout the aviation trade, aiming to stop related tragedies sooner or later. The households of these misplaced proceed to advocate for better security measures and keep in mind the family members misplaced on that fateful day.
This text will delve into the precise circumstances of the crash, the following investigations, the lasting impression on the aviation trade, and the continued efforts to honor the reminiscences of these on board.
1. Passengers
The passengers of Comair Flight 5191 signify the core human aspect of this tragedy. Understanding their numerous backgrounds, causes for journey, and the impression of their loss on households and communities supplies essential context for comprehending the total scope of the catastrophe.
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Variety of Backgrounds
The passenger manifest mirrored a cross-section of society. Enterprise vacationers, vacationers, and people returning residence comprised the flight’s occupants. This variety underscores the widespread impression of the crash, affecting folks from numerous walks of life.
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Functions of Journey
Reconstruction of particular person journeys reveals the number of causes for being on board. Some passengers had been en path to enterprise conferences, others had been embarking on holidays, whereas some had been merely returning residence after a go to. Understanding their particular person functions highlights the disruption brought on by the accident and the private tragedies concerned.
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Influence on Households
The sudden lack of life devastated households throughout the nation. Spouses, youngsters, dad and mom, and siblings had been left to grapple with the emotional and sensible penalties of their family members’ absence. The ripple impact of grief prolonged past quick households, impacting mates, colleagues, and communities.
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Collective Loss
The passengers of Comair Flight 5191 collectively signify a major lack of potential. Their unrealized contributions to society, their unfinished tales, and the damaged connections left behind underscore the profound and lasting impression of this aviation catastrophe.
Inspecting the lives of the passengers presents a poignant reminder of the human price of aviation accidents. Their tales personalize the statistics, offering a deeper understanding of the tragedy’s impression and reinforcing the significance of continued efforts to enhance aviation security.
2. Crew Members
The crew of Comair Flight 5191 performed a essential position within the occasions main as much as and together with the tragic crash. Understanding their roles, obligations, and the impression of the accident on their lives and households presents an important perspective on the human aspect of this aviation catastrophe.
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Flight Crew Actions
The actions of the Captain and First Officer within the cockpit through the essential moments earlier than takeoff are central to understanding the sequence of occasions that led to the crash. The Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) investigation meticulously examined cockpit voice recorder knowledge, pilot coaching information, and operational procedures to reconstruct the flight crew’s efficiency. This evaluation supplies perception into the selections and components contributing to the accident.
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Expertise and Coaching
The pilots’ expertise and coaching backgrounds grew to become key factors of investigation following the crash. Scrutiny centered on their flight hours, certifications, and familiarity with the plane and airport. Evaluating these components contributes to understanding their preparedness for the flight and their responses to the growing emergency.
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Human Components
The NTSB investigation additionally thought-about the position of human components, comparable to fatigue and communication, within the accident’s chain of occasions. Evaluation of pilot work schedules, relaxation intervals, and cockpit communication patterns helps make clear how human components might need influenced their efficiency and decision-making through the essential pre-takeoff section.
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Influence on Households
Just like the passengers, the crew members additionally left behind grieving households. The lack of the pilots deeply affected their spouses, youngsters, and different family members, including one other layer of tragedy to the already devastating occasion. Recognizing this private impression additional underscores the profound human price of the accident.
Inspecting the roles and experiences of the crew members supplies important context for understanding the complexities of the Comair Flight 5191 tragedy. Their contributions, actions, and the following impression on their households emphasize the far-reaching human penalties of this aviation catastrophe and the significance of ongoing efforts to reinforce aviation security.
3. Households Impacted
The crash of Comair Flight 5191 had a devastating and enduring impression on the households of the victims. Lack of life represents just one side of the tragedy; the ripple impact of grief, trauma, and sensible challenges confronted by surviving relations constitutes a major and sometimes ignored dimension of such disasters.
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Speedy Grief and Trauma
The sudden and surprising lack of family members plunged households into profound grief and trauma. The shock of the information, coupled with the horrific nature of the accident, created intense emotional misery. Many households struggled to course of the fact of their loss, going through immense emotional ache and psychological challenges within the quick aftermath.
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Lengthy-Time period Emotional Influence
The emotional penalties of the crash prolonged far past the preliminary interval of grief. Many relations skilled long-term psychological challenges, together with melancholy, nervousness, post-traumatic stress dysfunction, and complex grief. The anniversary of the crash, birthdays, holidays, and different vital occasions typically served as painful reminders of their loss, triggering renewed grief and emotional misery.
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Sensible Challenges and Lack of Help
Past the emotional toll, households additionally confronted sensible challenges. Lack of a main breadwinner created monetary pressure for a lot of households. Households additionally misplaced important emotional and sensible assist supplied by the deceased, leaving gaps in childcare, family administration, and each day life. These sensible difficulties added one other layer of complexity to the already overwhelming burden of grief.
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Authorized and Investigative Processes
Navigating the authorized and investigative processes following the crash introduced further challenges for households. Many households participated in lawsuits towards the airline and different events concerned, searching for accountability and compensation for his or her loss. The complexities of litigation, coupled with the emotional toll of reliving the tragedy by investigations and authorized proceedings, added additional pressure throughout an already tough time.
Understanding the multifaceted impression on the households of the victims supplies a extra complete understanding of the true price of the Comair Flight 5191 tragedy. Their ongoing struggles with grief, trauma, and sensible challenges spotlight the enduring penalties of aviation disasters and underscore the significance of offering complete assist and assets to these affected by such occasions.
4. Neighborhood Grief
The crash of Comair Flight 5191 resonated deeply throughout the Lexington, Kentucky group, making a shared expertise of grief and loss. Whereas particular person households bore the brunt of the tragedy, the impression prolonged far past these straight linked to the victims. The sudden lack of 49 lives in a single occasion created a collective trauma that affected all the metropolis.
A number of components intensified the group’s grief. The comparatively small measurement of Lexington amplified the sense of shared loss. Many residents had private connections to the victims, whether or not by work, social circles, or group organizations. The accident additionally represented a major blow to the town’s identification, as Blue Grass Airport serves as a significant transportation hub and financial driver. The crash disrupted each day life, impacting journey, enterprise operations, and the general sense of safety throughout the group. Information protection and public memorials additional amplified the collective grief, offering fixed reminders of the tragedy and fostering a shared sense of mourning.
The group response to the crash demonstrated resilience and compassion. Vigils, memorial companies, and fundraising efforts supplied retailers for collective grief and assist for affected households. Native organizations, companies, and people mobilized to supply help, counseling companies, and monetary help. The shared expertise of loss fostered a stronger sense of group, as residents united to assist each other throughout a time of profound sorrow. The long-term impression of the tragedy continues to form Lexington, with ongoing memorialization efforts and a renewed give attention to aviation security serving as enduring reminders of the lives misplaced and the group’s collective therapeutic course of.
5. Lives Remembered
Remembering the victims of Comair Flight 5191 is essential not solely to honor their particular person lives but additionally to make sure that the teachings realized from the tragedy proceed to contribute to aviation security. Preserving the reminiscences of these misplaced helps to contextualize the human price of aviation accidents and supplies continued impetus for enhancements throughout the trade.
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Particular person Tales and Legacies
Every particular person on board Flight 5191 had a novel story, a life stuffed with relationships, accomplishments, and aspirations. Recounting these tales, whether or not by private anecdotes, images, or biographical info, supplies a deeper understanding of the human dimension of the tragedy. Remembering their contributions, passions, and the impression they’d on others helps protect their legacies and ensures they aren’t forgotten.
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Memorialization Efforts
Concrete acts of memorialization, such because the Comair Flight 5191 Memorial on the College of Kentucky Arboretum, play a significant position in preserving the reminiscence of the victims. These bodily areas supply locations for reflection, remembrance, and group therapeutic. They function tangible reminders of the lives misplaced and supply a focus for ongoing commemoration.
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Advocacy for Security Enhancements
Remembering the victims additionally fuels advocacy for ongoing security enhancements throughout the aviation trade. Households of the victims have performed a major position in pushing for stricter rules and enhanced security protocols. Their efforts be certain that the teachings realized from the crash contribute to stopping related tragedies sooner or later.
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Collective Remembrance and Neighborhood Therapeutic
The collective act of remembering fosters group therapeutic and strengthens the resolve to enhance aviation security. Annual memorial companies, group gatherings, and ongoing discussions concerning the tragedy contribute to a shared strategy of remembrance and reflection. This collective engagement reinforces the significance of studying from the previous to create a safer future.
By remembering the victims of Comair Flight 5191, not simply as a statistic however as people with distinctive lives and legacies, the impression of the tragedy continues to resonate. This remembrance serves as a robust reminder of the human price of aviation accidents and motivates continued efforts to enhance security and forestall future loss.
6. Legacy of Loss
The legacy of loss stemming from Comair Flight 5191 extends past the quick tragedy, shaping aviation security rules, impacting the lives of households and the Lexington group, and serving as a relentless reminder of the human price of aviation accidents. This legacy encompasses tangible modifications throughout the aviation trade and intangible however equally vital shifts in public notion and group reminiscence.
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Enhanced Security Rules
The crash prompted a radical investigation by the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB), resulting in essential modifications in airport runway lighting and operational procedures. Runway incursions, a recognized security danger, grew to become a focus, resulting in improved floor radar programs and revised takeoff protocols. These regulatory modifications signify a direct response to the circumstances surrounding the accident, aiming to stop related tragedies sooner or later. The legacy of improved security rules stands as a testomony to the victims and a tangible final result of the investigation.
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Neighborhood Influence and Remembrance
The Lexington group skilled a profound sense of collective loss following the crash. The occasion spurred the creation of memorials, annual remembrance ceremonies, and ongoing group assist for affected households. This shared expertise of grief and therapeutic formed the group’s identification and fostered an enduring dedication to aviation security advocacy. The legacy of group impression underscores the broader societal penalties of aviation accidents, extending past particular person households to embody complete communities.
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Households’ Advocacy for Change
Pushed by their grief and a need to stop future tragedies, households of the victims grew to become vocal advocates for aviation security reform. Their tireless efforts performed an important position in pushing for legislative modifications and elevating public consciousness about essential issues of safety. This legacy of advocacy demonstrates the ability of collective motion and the enduring impression of non-public loss in driving significant change throughout the aviation trade.
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Lasting Influence on Aviation Trade Practices
Comair Flight 5191 serves as a case examine in aviation security coaching packages. The accident highlights the essential significance of correct runway identification, adherence to straightforward working procedures, and efficient communication throughout the cockpit. The legacy of this tragedy continues to form pilot coaching, emphasizing the necessity for vigilance and adherence to security protocols to stop future accidents.
The legacy of loss ensuing from Comair Flight 5191 serves as a sobering reminder of the significance of steady enchancment in aviation security. The tangible and intangible penalties of the tragedy, from regulatory modifications to group impression and households’ advocacy, proceed to form the aviation trade and be certain that the lives misplaced should not forgotten.
7. Advocacy for Security
Advocacy for enhanced aviation security measures grew to become inextricably linked with the victims of Comair Flight 5191 following the tragic 2006 crash. The incident, which claimed 49 lives, served as a catalyst for households of the victims to champion vital modifications throughout the aviation trade. Pushed by profound grief and a need to stop related tragedies, these households remodeled their private loss into a robust pressure for reform. Their advocacy efforts centered on addressing key security deficiencies recognized within the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) investigation, together with insufficient runway lighting, pilot fatigue, and the necessity for improved cockpit voice recorders.
A outstanding instance of this advocacy is the push for stricter rules relating to runway incursion prevention. Households of the victims actively lobbied for enhanced floor radar programs and improved pilot coaching protocols to mitigate the dangers related to plane taking off or touchdown on the flawed runway. Their efforts performed an important position within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandating improved runway security applied sciences at airports nationwide. Moreover, households advocated for stricter rules relating to pilot responsibility time and relaxation necessities to fight pilot fatigue, a contributing issue within the Comair 5191 crash. Their advocacy resulted in vital modifications to flight time limitations, guaranteeing pilots obtain enough relaxation to take care of optimum efficiency throughout essential flight phases.
The legacy of Comair Flight 5191 underscores the essential position of advocacy in driving significant change throughout the aviation trade. The tireless efforts of the victims’ households led to tangible enhancements in security rules, finally contributing to a safer flying surroundings for all. Their story serves as a robust testomony to the impression of advocacy, demonstrating how private loss might be remodeled right into a pressure for optimistic change, guaranteeing that future tragedies could also be prevented and that the lives misplaced proceed to contribute to a safer and safer aviation trade. The continued vigilance and advocacy for improved security requirements stay an important part of honoring the victims of Comair Flight 5191.
8. Memorialization Efforts
Memorialization efforts play a significant position in honoring the victims of Comair Flight 5191, guaranteeing their lives and legacies should not forgotten. These efforts present a tangible expression of grief, supply solace to surviving relations and the group, and function an enduring reminder of the significance of steady enhancements in aviation security. They signify an important side of the therapeutic course of, reworking tragedy right into a catalyst for optimistic change.
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Bodily Memorials
The Comair Flight 5191 Memorial on the College of Kentucky Arboretum stands as a outstanding instance of bodily memorialization. Devoted in 2010, the memorial encompasses a granite wall inscribed with the names of the 49 victims, providing a serene house for reflection and remembrance. Different bodily memorials could embody plaques, sculptures, or devoted gardens, offering tangible areas for households and the group to assemble and honor these misplaced.
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Annual Commemorations
Annual memorial companies and gatherings present recurring alternatives for collective remembrance and group therapeutic. These occasions typically contain speeches, musical performances, and moments of silence, permitting households and the group to come back collectively to honor the victims and replicate on the tragedy. Such commemorations reinforce the shared expertise of loss and supply a platform for ongoing assist and connection.
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Scholarship Funds and Charitable Foundations
Establishing scholarship funds or charitable foundations within the names of the victims supplies an enduring legacy that extends past remembrance. These initiatives assist academic alternatives or charitable causes that replicate the victims’ values and pursuits, reworking grief into optimistic motion that advantages the broader group. Such endeavors create a significant and enduring tribute to the lives misplaced.
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Storytelling and Archiving
Preserving the person tales of the victims by written narratives, images, and private anecdotes ensures their lives should not lowered to statistics. Accumulating and sharing these tales in on-line archives, documentaries, or revealed works supplies a deeper understanding of the human dimension of the tragedy. This type of memorialization retains their reminiscences alive for future generations and emphasizes the person lives impacted by the crash.
These numerous memorialization efforts, each tangible and intangible, contribute to the continued therapeutic course of for households and the group. They function highly effective reminders of the human price of aviation accidents and reinforce the significance of continued vigilance and advocacy for improved security requirements throughout the aviation trade. The legacy of Comair Flight 5191, preserved by these memorialization efforts, continues to encourage optimistic change and serves as an enduring tribute to these misplaced.
9. Lasting Influence
The crash of Comair Flight 5191 left an indelible mark on aviation security, the authorized panorama, and the collective consciousness. The lack of 49 lives spurred vital modifications designed to stop related tragedies, whereas the authorized battles that adopted established vital precedents. The occasion continues to function a poignant reminder of the fragility of life and the significance of vigilance in air journey.
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Aviation Security Reforms
The accident investigation uncovered essential security deficiencies, resulting in vital regulatory modifications. These embody stricter guidelines relating to runway lighting and markings, in addition to enhanced pilot coaching protocols for low-visibility situations and improved floor radar programs for higher plane monitoring. The FAA’s subsequent actions replicate a direct response to the circumstances of the crash, demonstrating the lasting impression on aviation security procedures nationwide.
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Authorized Precedents and Legal responsibility
The authorized battles following the crash established vital precedents associated to airline legal responsibility and pilot duty. Courtroom choices addressed problems with pilot fatigue, insufficient coaching, and airline negligence, shaping future authorized interpretations in related aviation accident instances. These authorized outcomes proceed to affect how airways function and handle pilot schedules, underscoring the lasting impression on authorized requirements throughout the trade.
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Psychological Influence on Survivors and Households
The emotional and psychological scars left on surviving relations and the only real surviving crew member stay a major a part of the tragedy’s lasting impression. The trauma related to the lack of family members and the harrowing expertise of the crash itself can have long-term results, highlighting the profound human price of aviation accidents past the quick lack of life.
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Neighborhood Reminiscence and Memorialization
The crash continues to carry a major place within the collective reminiscence of Lexington, Kentucky. Memorials, annual commemorations, and ongoing group assist for affected households reveal the enduring impression of the occasion. These acts of remembrance be certain that the victims should not forgotten and function a relentless reminder of the significance of aviation security.
The lasting impression of Comair Flight 5191 is multifaceted, encompassing tangible enhancements in aviation security rules, vital authorized precedents, and enduring emotional penalties for these straight affected. The tragedy serves as a sobering reminder of the human price of aviation accidents and underscores the continued want for vigilance, advocacy, and steady enchancment throughout the trade. The collective reminiscence of the victims and the teachings realized from the crash proceed to form aviation security practices and contribute to a safer flying surroundings for all.
Steadily Requested Questions
This part addresses widespread questions relating to the Comair Flight 5191 tragedy, offering factual info and clarifying key points of the accident and its aftermath.
Query 1: What was the first explanation for the Comair Flight 5191 crash?
The Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) decided the first trigger to be pilot error, particularly the flight crew’s try to take off from a runway that was too quick. Contributing components included insufficient runway lighting and pilot fatigue.
Query 2: What number of people had been on board Comair Flight 5191?
Forty-seven passengers and two crew members had been aboard the plane.
Query 3: Have been there any survivors of the crash?
Tragically, just one particular person survived: the First Officer, James Polehinke. He sustained extreme accidents.
Query 4: What security enhancements had been carried out following the accident?
A number of key security enhancements had been carried out following the NTSB investigation, together with enhanced runway lighting requirements, improved floor radar programs for plane monitoring, and revised pilot coaching protocols relating to runway identification.
Query 5: The place can one discover additional details about the victims?
Details about the victims might be discovered by numerous on-line assets, information archives, and the Comair Flight 5191 Memorial on the College of Kentucky Arboretum.
Query 6: What’s the legacy of Comair Flight 5191?
The legacy of Comair Flight 5191 is certainly one of improved aviation security requirements, enhanced pilot coaching, and ongoing advocacy for safer air journey by households of the victims. The tragedy serves as a essential reminder of the significance of vigilance and steady enchancment throughout the aviation trade.
Understanding the circumstances surrounding the Comair Flight 5191 tragedy is essential for studying from the previous and stopping future accidents. These FAQs present a place to begin for additional exploration of this vital occasion in aviation historical past.
The next part will discover the long-term impression of this tragedy on the aviation trade and the continued efforts to honor the reminiscence of these misplaced.
Classes Realized
The tragic lack of life aboard Comair Flight 5191 underscores essential security classes for the aviation trade, pilots, and passengers. These classes, derived from the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) investigation and subsequent security advocacy, present worthwhile insights into stopping future accidents.
Tip 1: Runway Affirmation: Pilots should meticulously confirm the proper runway earlier than takeoff. Cross-checking runway assignments with airport diagrams and confirming runway markings are important steps to stop runway incursions.
Tip 2: Fatigue Administration: Ample relaxation is essential for pilot efficiency. Airways and pilots share duty for adhering to responsibility time limitations and prioritizing relaxation to mitigate the dangers related to fatigue-related errors.
Tip 3: Sterile Cockpit Procedures: Strict adherence to sterile cockpit procedures throughout essential phases of flight, comparable to takeoff and touchdown, minimizes distractions and permits pilots to give attention to important duties.
Tip 4: Clear Communication: Efficient communication between pilots and air site visitors management is significant. Clear and concise communication minimizes misunderstandings and ensures correct info alternate.
Tip 5: Passenger Consciousness: Passengers can contribute to security by familiarizing themselves with emergency procedures and promptly reporting any security issues to crew members.
Tip 6: Ongoing Coaching and Training: Steady coaching and recurrent schooling for pilots and air site visitors controllers are important for sustaining proficiency and adapting to evolving security procedures and applied sciences.
Tip 7: Supporting Security Advocacy: Public consciousness and assist for aviation security advocacy teams play a significant position in selling steady enhancements throughout the trade.
These classes realized from the Comair Flight 5191 tragedy emphasize a multi-layered strategy to aviation security. A mix of particular person duty, adherence to established procedures, technological developments, and ongoing advocacy are essential for stopping future accidents and guaranteeing the security of air journey.
In conclusion, the legacy of Comair Flight 5191 serves as a robust name to motion for steady enchancment in aviation security. By embracing these classes, the trade can honor the reminiscence of these misplaced by working in direction of a future the place such tragedies are prevented.
Conclusion
This exploration of the Comair Flight 5191 tragedy has sought to offer a complete understanding of the human price related to this aviation accident. From the passengers and crew aboard the plane to the households left behind and the broader Lexington group, the impression of this occasion stays profound and far-reaching. The examination of security enhancements, authorized precedents, and ongoing memorialization efforts underscores the significance of studying from this tragedy to stop related occasions sooner or later.
The reminiscence of these misplaced on Comair Flight 5191 serves as a robust name to motion for steady enchancment throughout the aviation trade. Continued vigilance, rigorous adherence to security protocols, and ongoing advocacy for enhanced security measures are essential for guaranteeing the security of air journey. The legacy of this tragedy should stay a driving pressure for optimistic change, reminding us of the enduring human price of aviation accidents and the shared duty to prioritize security above all else.
