Posted on 12/22/2008 7:34:52 AM PST by yankeedame
A Boeing 737 with 115 passengers and crew on board was almost torn in half when it crashed on take-off and burst into flames - but everyone got off the plane alive.
'It was a miracle that everybody survived the impact and the fire,' said assistant fire chief Bill Davis. 'It was just amazing.'
Snapped in two: The wreckage of the Continental flight
Miracle: A gash in the snow shows the plane's path as it skidded out of control
Continental Airlines Flight 1404 was taxiing along the runway at Denver International Airport on Saturday evening when it veered off course.
Debris was scattered on the runway behind the plane which came to rest in a snow-covered ravine 200 yards from one of the airport's fire stations.
The entire right side of the plane was burned...
Horror crash: Fire tore along one side of the aircraft, melting plastic inside the cabin
Wreckage: The shattered remains of the aircraft black against a dusting of snow
A crack encircled much of the fuselage and the left engine had broken loose and ended up 30 feet away.
Passengers and crew members scrambled from the plane on emergency slides and walked out of the ravine. One of those on board...'It was bumpy, then it was bumpier, then it wasn't bumpy.'
Thirty-eight people suffered injuries, including broken bones, with one listed as serious.
Federal aviation investigators said the weather was cold but not snowy at the time of the crash.
An overhead view of the plan shows scattered wreckage and the gash in the cabin tearing it in half
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
You should take a look into studies about why people die in disasters like this and how.
Nope... Probably the most sanest person aboard!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
I think we size up the situation and act on what's going to be the best thing to do.
“I think we size up the situation and act on what’s going to be the best thing to do.”
The best thing usually is to get out and help those as they slide down get away. Odds are there will be people who will need help getting away from the airplane. You can help those.
Rotate speed of a 737 is 150 mph.It can take off with one engine.
I believe the pilot aborted and tried to stop.
Even though the runway was clear,
high wind gusts will form ice on the runway.
Yep!
Thanks for the update ping.
I also heard today that they stopped about 100 yards from the fire station. Good thing!! Also, very lucky they were not airborn already.
I just hope all the flight and voice recorders can be recovered.
One thing we can count on; finding the exact cause(s) is only a matter of time.
Being semi-literate in things technical, I can speculate with the best of them.
I am guessing mechanical or weather related sensor failure, perhaps contributed by some human error before takeoff, and followed by the crew's inability to know that displayed data was inaccurate and did the best they could under the circumstances.
But we will have a report, sooner or later.
It does if you have bad brakes, and it pulls when the brakes are applied. Or, even, blowouts from the sudden emergency braking. Add to that an Easterly cross wind of 25kts or more, and you have a plane “veering” to the North-West, as this one did.
I’m anxious to find out why the takeoff was aborted.
I think it might be one of those west Texas ravines.
Whatever it was they should be able to get a good cause, what with the flight crew making it out alive and having both the recorders. It will be interesting.
I haven’t seen the details of the runway and wind speed and direction. Was the slide off the runway in the direction of the crosswind? If so you would have to wonder it they hit a patch of ice just as they were getting light on the ground. Wouldn’t be a problem on a dry runway, or without what’s been described as a pretty stiff crosswind, but add the two and you could have problems.
Speaking of which, have we heard anything of late about the plane that lost power on final to London? Last I heard the engines had simply failed to respond to the advancement of the throttles by either the autopilot or the pilot. The longer that one goes unsolved the more troublesome it is!
This afternoon some news reports said the brakes were definitely involved.
Can’t believe breaks? NTSB has the manufacturers (Boeing, GE) as PART OF THE EXAMINERS. That’s like asking OJ to supply evidence! Not gonna happen!
Jet would veer left if left(?) engine failed? But it is the RIGHT SIDE that caught fire. That needs some explanantion.
Also the cross-wind was to the RIGHT!
Wearing polyester underwear, what about Nylon..same problem i guess? I’m gettin my asbestos pantsuit yeah baby. victorya ssecret.
“NTSB has the manufacturers (Boeing, GE) as PART OF THE EXAMINERS. Thats like asking OJ to supply evidence! “
Wrong. Boeing and GE are the subject matter experts and only they understand the engineering and construction of the aircraft and engines. Thinking the NTSB has all the abilityt to understand everything without their is just being ignorant.
“Even though the runway was clear,
high wind gusts will form ice on the runway.”
Um, if the runway is clear where is the ice coming from? Remember, this is Denver and we don’t have humidity and ice has a hard time forming at such cold temepratures.
“Thinking the NTSB has all the abilityt to understand everything without their is just being ignorant.
“
Should have been:
Thinking the NTSB has the ability to understand everything without them is just being ignorant.
Get some Nomex underwear. I used to wear them when I raced stock cars. They look and feel just like regular long underwear.
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