Cause Of Denver Jet Crash Still A Mystery

Investigators Rush To Collect More Evidence Before Projected Storm Blankets Wreckage

(CBS/AP)  Investigators returned Tuesday to the wreckage of a Continental Airlines jetliner that veered off a runway, rushing to collect evidence ahead of snow expected to move in later in the day.

One group was working Tuesday inside the charred fuselage of the plane to document its condition, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said.

Authorities are trying to determine why an odd bumping and rattling noise was heard on the flight's recorders in the seconds before Saturday's crash, which injured 38 people at Denver International Airport.

The noise was detected 41 seconds after the jet, bound for Houston, started speeding down the runway. Four seconds later, one of the crew members called for the takeoff to be aborted, said Robert Sumwalt, another NTSB spokesman.

The recording ends six seconds after that, probably because the plane slammed to the ground after hurtling off an embankment, he said.

Sumwalt revealed the findings from the initial review of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders on Monday. Experts planned to begin a more in-depth analysis of the contents of the recorders in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

All 115 passengers and crew members escaped the jet, which caught fire on the right side. Four people remained hospitalized Tuesday, one of them in serious condition.

Sumwalt said investigators have found no problems with the plane's engines, tires or brakes, but they are not yet ruling anything out.

Experts say the plane's sudden turn into the wind seems to rule out wind sheer as a factor, reports CBS News correspondent Thalia Assuras.

"The mystery of this flight is did they abort the take-off after something started to happen? Or did they abort the takeoff and then they started to veer off?" former NTSB Managing Director Peter Goelz told Assuras.

The plane traveled about 2,000 feet after leaving the runway, crossing a grassy strip and a taxiway before going off the embankment, hitting the ground at its base. It then went up a slight hill, over an access road and then down another small hill on the other side of the road before landing on its belly, its landing gear shorn off.

Lead NTSB investigator Bill English said the plane's flight data recorder shows the thrusters on both engines were switched to reverse. He said that normally happens when crew members try to stop a takeoff.

Sumwalt said investigators are still gathering information about the exact wind conditions on the runway at the time of the accident. However, he said the cockpit voice recorder contained no comments about wind.

Investigators have not yet interviewed the plane's captain, who was flying the plane and was among the injured. Authorities have not disclosed his condition, but Sumwalt said he is physically unable to be interviewed. They have talked to the first officer, who said the plane began moving off the center of the runway as it reached about 103 mph while speeding down the runway for takeoff.

The plane continued to accelerate, reaching a maximum speed of about 137 mph, Sumwalt said.

Off-duty crew members who had flown the plane earlier in the day also were on board at the time of the accident, and Sumwalt said the first officer from that crew returned to the plane three times to help rescue passengers. Sumwalt also reported that those crew members said they had no problems with the plane during their flight.

A fire charred and ripped open much of the right side of the plane, with the worst damage around a crack around the fuselage. Sumwalt said all the passenger seats remained intact during the plane's wild ride off the runway, although seats in row 18, near the crack, had loose fittings.

Sumwalt said the runway was bare and dry when the plane attempted to take off and no debris was found there.

[godseyesore-2009]

"Experts say the plane''s sudden turn into the wind seems to rule out wind sheer as a factor."
If pilot was in a heavy wind he would have had to compensate by slightly heading into it. If wind abruptly ceased, the plane would have veered quickly toward the wind. Hey "experts", try out simple physics.

[hunterdon6]

It''s got to be O''Bama''s fault!

[quartersaw]

Parents need to provide transportation for their children to school.
It would be great if I could be ''limoed'' to work every day.
School budgets are out of control due to fuel costs,buses,insurance,drivers, etc.
Kids should be able to walk to school instead of this idiotic system of mega sized schools that we have.
..............................................................................................................
When will school buses have seatbelts?

[buttonjockey]

From the article:

"The mystery of this flight is did they abort the take-off after something started to happen? Or did they abort the takeoff and then they started to veer off?"


Uhhhhmmmm. It''s probably been said about a hundred times, but why doesn''t someone ASK THE PILOT or co-pilot!!!! Perhaps one of them knows why one of them called to abort the takeoff?

It''s a wonder the NTSB ever gets anything done.

[downtowner97]

Well, that''s why there are seatbelts. They don''t do much good in a 400 mph impact after flying, but they sure do a nice job in impacts like this.

When will school buses have seatbelts? I think it''s absurd that a child''s own mother has to drive them around in a car with 8 airbags in a size-appropriate seat strapped in the back of a car, then you put them on a bench seat with a vertical sheet of metal in front of them, no seatbelts, and no airbags in a vehicle driven by someone who makes as little as $30 a day.

Sockpuppet4, as p1ssed as I am with ALL elected officials you have to be a moron to blame ANY party for this. It could be maintenance, it could be a lack of flaps. Don%u2019t pull a LBJ, (Gulf of Tonkin incident) wait for the investigation to do it%u2019s thing

[dowjones20k]

This is SENSATIONALISM AT IT''S FINEST !!

Are you KIDDING me???

Why not speak to the flippin PILOT & CO-PILOT???

Since they survived the crash ... MAYBE they can explain what they were thinking and why the plane slid off and crashed??