US federal judge ruled that the families of victims killed in the August 2006 Comair Flight 5191 crash in Lexington may sue the airline for punitive damages, according to a report in the Louisville Courier Journal.

The crash, which killed 49 of the 50 people onboard, occurred when the CRJ200 took off from the wrong runway.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said pilot error was the principal cause of the accident.

Plaintiffs also will be allowed to seek punitive damages from James Polehinke, the copilot who was the only survivor of the crash.

Comair said in court filings that it "accepted responsibility for mistakes made by its crew" but argued that it had no way of knowing that the two pilots "would fail to perform their duties" and therefore should not be subject to lawsuits.