At Least 38 Injured In Denver Plane Crash

Continental 737 Went Off Runway During Takeoff, Caught Fire; No Fatalities

(CBS/AP)  Officials say a plane carrying more than 100 passengers went off the runway during takeoff from Denver International Airport.

The flight was Continental Airlines flight 1404 and was leaving from Denver and heading to Houston. It was carrying 107 passengers and five crew members

Denver International Airport manager Kim Day says that at least 38 people were injured, reports CBS News' Ryan Corsaro. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening.

The plane veered off course about 2,000 feet from the end of the runway and did not appear to be airborne, Day said. The plane appeared to have slid into a ditch and was on fire after the crash, Corsaro reports.

The plane About 20 ambulances and six fire trucks were on the scene afterwards, reports CBS Affiliate KCNC in Denver. Ground crews put out the flames quickly, said airport spokesman Jeff Green.

The FAA did not immediately say why the Boeing 737 ran off the runway, attributing the incident to "unknown circumstances." The weather in Denver was cold but not snowy at the time. Roads to the airport were dry.

The incident took place at around 6:20 p.m. local time.

In November, 1987 Continental flight 1713 crashed in bad weather at Stapleton Airport, the airport in Denver that preceded Denver International. There were 73 passengers on board and 28 died, KCNC reported.

[billdefalco-2009]

Here%u2019s my call based on knowledge as a pilot, the available data & observations of the 2 passengers from Denver seated on the left side of the plane & who said they felt a strong wind gust push the craft into a right bank making the right wing strike the ground. This looks like a botched crosswind takeoff to me - failure of the pilots to apply the proper control inputs during a crosswind takeoff. Pilots begin training on small aircraft. Crosswind takeoffs where the wind is blowing directly across the runway are always a challenge - much more for small light aircraft VS heavier aircraft. But a strong wind gust hitting the side of a large transport aircraft on takeoff can have a significant impact on the flight path. Pilots taking off under these conditions must use specific control input to prevent the possibility of a strong wind gust getting under the wind-side wing. In small aircraft this is critical in strong crosswind takeoff conditions & there have been serious crashes where light aircraft have been completely blown over and into the ground. If nothing mechanically went wrong then this incident was probably caused by the failure of the pilots to fully take into account the effect of the strong crosswind conditions present at takeoff. I believe the pilots were complacent about the wind and played down the potential impact of the strong crosswind conditions on their heavy aircraft & therefore did not properly control the aircraft during the take off sequence.

[billdefalco-2009]

Here%u2019s my call based on knowledge as a pilot, the available data & observations of the 2 passengers from Denver seated on the left side of the plane & who said they felt a strong wind gust push the craft into a right bank making the right wing strike the ground. This looks like a botched crosswind takeoff to me %u2013 failure of the pilots to apply the proper control inputs during a crosswind takeoff. Pilots begin training on small aircraft. Crosswind takeoffs where the wind is blowing directly across the runway are always a challenge %u2013 much more for small light aircraft VS heavier aircraft. But a strong wind gust hitting the side of a large transport aircraft on takeoff can have a significant impact on the flight path. Pilots taking off under these conditions must use specific control input to prevent the possibility of a strong wind gust getting under the wind-side wing. In small aircraft this is critical in strong crosswind takeoff conditions & there have been serious crashes where light aircraft have been completely blown over and into the ground. If nothing mechanically went wrong then this incident was probably caused by the failure of the pilots to fully take into account the effect of the strong crosswind conditions present at takeoff. I believe the pilots were complacent about the wind and played down the potential impact of the strong crosswind conditions on their heavy aircraft & therefore did not properly control the aircraft during the take off sequence.

[lrrryo]

First of all, Peter Goetz, doesn''t know much about airline flying, as some of his comments on the video were wrong (like the braking during an abort).

Next, it''s hard to speculate what happened and interesting to read all of the comments of folks that "have an opinion".

My comments come with over 5000 hours on the 737, many in the -500 and have gone thru a few high speed aborts, which this could have been (an abort over 80kts).

Weather was not an issue, but wind perhaps, don''t know.

Now, why the plane veered off the runway is anyone''s guess. If all systems worked fine, this would have been an absolutely NON issue.

IF it were the braking system, (which automatically goes to max brakes during an abort, or RTO, rejected take off), the pilot can turn it off manually or just press the breaks to over ride it and turn it off.

IF it were an engine failure, it would be easy to control, non issue.

IF it were a reverse issue, the pilots control that, (all manual, no auto reverse) and could just reduce it.

IF it were something they hit on the runway, or if the left gear failed, or the nose steering failed to the left .... all could be an issue, but highly speculative.

Will be very curious as to what really happened.

Lrrryo

[usclimey]

Could it have blown a couple of tyres?

[wadearcher]

I am glad everyone made it out OK. But it seems to be a waste of time and money to have the NTSB and FAA involved. All you need is a few people to read the story on the internet from thousands of miles away and they already know what happened, great work guys. Especially since you have not spoke to one witness or seen any good photos of the wreckage, you''re hired!!

[yourdumb4]

For you writing about Icing on the wings you are correct... But it HAD NOTHING to do with this.... If you want to get "technical" for all you private pilot wanna-be''s. He was probably rolling down the runway and had a engine fire/failure or loss of directional control at a speed called V1, which is a calculated speed based on weight, altitude of airfield that allows you to stop on the remaining runway length available, it is your decision to continue the take-off or not. It was probably prior to V1. Aborted the take-off and lost directional control and due to the poss wx conditions at that time caused him to depart the runway... I''m 100% sure that the crew had de-iced/anti-iced and did all that they need to do make sure the aircraft was free of any frost/snow on the wings and tail. I hope everyone fairs ok from this accident.
It was very enjoyable reading your non-sense posts on why this plane crashed.

[we_r_lsu]

It usually takes the NTSB weeks if not months or years to determine the cause of aviation mishaps and that is after examining all the possible contibuting factors, including a visit to the scene of the mishap. I am glad to see the taxpayers will save MILLIONS of dollars since the mystery has been solved online within 24 hours from great distances via the internet. I am IMPRESSED

[yourdumb4]

For you writing about Icing on the wings you are correct... But it HAD NOTHING to do with this.... If you want to get "technical" for all you private pilot wanna-be''s. He was probably rolling down the runway and had a engine fire/failure or loss of directional control at a speed called V1, which is a calculated speed based on weight, altitude of airfield that allows you to stop on the remaining runway length available, it is your decision to continue the take-off or not. It was probably prior to V1. Aborted the take-off and lost directional control and due to the poss wx conditions at that time caused him to depart the runway... I''m 100% sure that the crew had de-iced/anti-iced and did all that they need to do make sure the aircraft was free of any frost/snow on the wings and tail. I hope everyone fairs ok from this accident.
It was very enjoyable reading your non-sense posts on why this plane crashed.

[yourdumb4]

For you writing about Icing on the wings you are correct... But it HAD NOTHING to do with this.... If you want to get "technical" for all you private pilot wanna-be''s. He was probably rolling down the runway and had a engine fire/failure or loss of directional control at a speed called V1, which is a calculated speed based on weight, altitude of airfield that allows you to stop on the remaining runway length available, it is your decision to continue the take-off or not. It was probably prior to V1. Aborted the take-off and lost directional control and due to the poss wx conditions at that time caused him to depart the runway... I''m 100% sure that the crew had de-iced/anti-iced and did all that they need to do make sure the aircraft was free of any frost/snow on the wings and tail. I hope everyone fairs ok from this accident.
It was very enjoyable reading your non-sense posts on why this plane crashed.

[yourdumb4]

For you writing about Icing on the wings you are correct... But it HAD NOTHING to do with this.... If you want to get "technical" for all you private pilot wanna-be''s. He was probably rolling down the runway and had a engine fire/failure or loss of directional control at a speed called V1, which is a calculated speed based on weight, altitude of airfield that allows you to stop on the remaining runway length available, it is your decision to continue the take-off or not. It was probably prior to V1. Aborted the take-off and lost directional control and due to the poss wx conditions at that time caused him to depart the runway... I''m 100% sure that the crew had de-iced/anti-iced and did all that they need to do make sure the aircraft was free of any frost/snow on the wings and tail. I hope everyone fairs ok from this accident.
It was very enjoyable reading your non-sense posts on why this plane crashed.

[pattitexas]

Pilotone1: Thank you. Well said.

[pilotone1]

My guess...the plane was overloaded and was able to climb briefly due to ground effect, but then settled back after leaving ground effect. The ice on the wings is a good guess too though since that does hurt lift dramatically.

On another note, its really disappointing to see all the racist comments on here. Cowards hiding behind their keyboards are about as anti-American as you can get, it is also a sad commentary on our educational system that such ignorance seems to thrive in a lot of places around this nation.

[pattitexas]

Hey "Hetup". Your comments are hateful AND illegal. Go get help and stay off comment sections until you are healed.

[matanuskadon]

Ice and snow cause little to no issue as far as control surface movement, although the needed flight lift is reduced rapidly with very little ice or snow stuck on the surfaces of the wings or stabilizers. The often cause of runway runoffs are brakes and steering troubles.

[matanuskadon]

Come on Hissteps4u, you really didn''t guess well.
The aileron wasn''t even able cause "longitudinal" direction changes, especially at rollout speeds. The rudder could have, yet freeze ups of control surfaces never occur due to temperature extremes.
It will be found to be crew caused or a mechanical failure.

[th88888888]

That''s interesting. I hope the people recover quickly from this accident. There were a series of other accidents and deaths in the last few days that appear to be related to the plane crash near Uniontown in which Michael Connell, the IT guy for "you know who," died. One story I read said that plane hit a flag pole. I noticed the undersea cables that were cut yesterday had one cable named FLAG. Connection? Message from God? Did "you know who" cut the cables? Signing off....Quantum Collapse Reporter

[doctor2012]

This is good news. Usually airplane accidents end in death. The people were only hurt, and all safely escaped the plane. That''s great. The best Christmas gift those people and their families could have.