Watch CBS News

New video shows Colo. plane slamming into runway

New video shows deadly jet crash in Aspen 01:24

Newly released video is offering a first look at the deadly plane crash nearly two weeks ago at a small airport in Aspen, Colo. The footage comes from five infrared cameras at the airport.

The grainy black and white video captures the last seconds of the Challenger private jet trying to land at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport.

The jet had already tried and aborted one landing. The cameras shows the jet on its fatal second try. But as the cameras show, it was too late. The plane hit, bounced up briefly, and then slammed into the runway.

A pilot asked on communications with air traffic control, "What's with all the smoke behind us about our 5 o'clock position?"

The air traffic controller can be heard saying, "There was an incident here on the runway, sir."

The crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. One focus is the tailwinds that gusted up to 28 miles an hour, almost three times faster than considered safe for jet airplane landings, CBS News' Barry Petersen reported on "CBS This Morning."

One of the three pilots on board was killed, while another remains in critical condition, and the third has been released from the hospital.

Whatever the cause, the videos could be one of the key elements in the investigation, and are a rare sad look into the last seconds of a doomed aircraft.


View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.