NEW YORK—The U.S. government is paying part of damage settlements stemming from the Aug. 27, 2006, crash of Comair Flight 5191 at Lexington Bluegrass Airport, according to recently released documents.

The crash occurred when the Comair regional jet mistakenly attempted to take off on the wrong runway, which was too short for a plane of its size to get airborne. It crashed past the end of the runway, killing 47 passengers and two crew members. The co-pilot was the lone survivor.

The only air traffic controller working at the time turned his back on the jet after clearing it for takeoff and did not see it taxi onto the wrong runway, according to the Washington-based National Transportation Safety Board. In addition, at the time the airport reportedly had poor runway markings, signage and lighting because of an ongoing construction project.

According to an agreement between Comair and the U.S. Justice Department, negotiating on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. government agreed to pay 22% of the damage settlements in connection with the crash. That figure changes to the government paying 18% of damage settlements after any verdict in the case, according to the agreement.

Earlier this month a federal jury in Lexington awarded $7.1 million to the family of one of the crash victims. That case has a separate jury trial coming to determine whether the airline committed gross negligence and owes the family punitive damages.

All other families settled with the airlines for undisclosed amounts.

While the agreement is dated August 2008, its existence was first reported Wednesday by the Bloomberg news service.

According to the agreement, Comair must pay damages and then seek reimbursement from the government.

As part of the agreement, neither Comair nor the federal government admitted fault.

The agreement also said that if Comair recovered money from the Lexington Bluegrass Airport, its insurers or others in connection with the crash, it would have to pay 10% of the recovered sum to the government.

The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in October 2009 that the airport can’t be held liable for the crash because of sovereign immunity, which prevents parties from suing the government.

Comair is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc.

Coverage for the 2006 flight was led by the U.S. Aviation Insurance Group underwriting pool, managed by New York-based U.S. Aviation Underwriters Inc., according to sources.