Pictured: Blazing Boeing 737 torn in half - but all 115 people escape alive [Denver,CO]

DailyMail.uk ^ | 22nd December 2008 | staff writer

[Kiers]

You’re saying in the whole USofA there are NO experts on engineering aeronautics who are NOT in active employ of Boeing/GE...?

Have u heard of term called ‘conflict of interest’...group think....? why just turn to the honest men/women of DC!

I just read on twitter...the LEFT engine DID fall off?

[Kiers]

looking at picture (thank God everyone got out), but the left engine may have died, causing right thrust to veer plane to left, and then the right engine started BURNING!
taking the fuel supply with it...and then near where plane stopped, left engine completely FELL OFF.

how can BOTH engines GO like THAT? but did happen!

[Question_Assumptions]

And the problem is that stopping to help people can get both you and them killed. That's not to say that you should shove little old ladies out of the way to get out nor does it mean you shouldn't help someone if the situation presents itself and it keeps the evacuation running smoothly but not getting out of the plane quickly endangers not only you but others. There is a reason why the oxygen mask instructions explicitly tell you to put the mask on yourself before helping others.

[CodeToad]

Hey, stupid, this isn’t a prosecution, ya idiot! This is about finding out what happened. Boeing engineers are the experts of that aircraft and its systems. NO ONE on the planet knows more about it than they do.

What’s with your hatred of Boeing, get fired or something?

[Andyman]

After aborting a take off, yes. While taxiing, no. I was just pointing out an error by the writer.

[Right_Handed_Writer]

"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?"

Here is the METAR that was taken just after the incident:

"SPECI KDEN 210134Z 29024G32KT 10SM FEW040 SCT100 M04/M18 A2998 RMK AO2 PK WND 28036/0123"

Decoded that means it was a SPECIal observation taken on the 21st at 0134zulu (210134z), keeping in mind that in UTC time it was already the 21st, at that time the wind was blowing from 290 degrees (a little north of west) at 24 knots gusting to 32 knots. Other things of note (M04/M18) meaning the air temp was 25 (M04), and, importantly, the dew point was 0 (M18), so the likelihood of icing was minimal in air that dry. And the final factor for the weather is this:

PK WND 28036/0123

That means there was a 36 knot wind gust from 280 degrees, just 10 degrees off of due west, recorded at 0123z or 6:23PM local time, almost the exact time of the incident. That is a 41mph gust. A passenger reported that they felt the right wing dip first. The gust would have hit at almost a right angle from the left of the plane.

But I'm just a sales guy, I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, and I have a meteorologist as a son. He briefs Air Force pilots. His finger is pointing at this as a possible cause.

[clee1]

This is what all the air safety people say. GET OUT. Trying to “help” just hinders others.

I always volunteer for the exit row when I fly. I guarantee you that the door will be open and I’ll be gone in an instant if need be.

And I pity the fool that holds up the works... he/she will be off the plane the HARD way.

[Uri’el-2012]

XS>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.

Having lived in Denver for 35 years, I have observed that
blowing snow from the sides of the roads create black ice
on roadways even after they have been cleared.

[RightWhale]

Often enough when there were empty seats, in the old days when flying was fun, the stewardess would direct me to the window seat with the emergency door. Good of the plane to come to rest with the wings practically on the ground. Run down the wing and step off and keep walking.

[SkyDancer]

Heard about it ... is this the one that ran off the end of the rwy??????

Jane

[Northern Yankee]

That's the one.

The pictures tell the story.

[Right_Handed_Writer]

Updates.

Crosswinds and steering:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AIRPORT_ACCIDENT?SITE=COBOU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT