Plaintiff attorneys said the verdict was a blow to other survivors. The flight was headed for Boise, Idaho, when the crash occurred in a severe snowstorm. The plane had lifted off the ground, then the right wing touched and the plane nosed into the ground. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The aircraft went up about 100 feet before it turned upside down and landed on its roof, according to Tom Allegrezza. The cold was horrible. One flight attendant, Diana Mechling, 33, died in the crash; two other flight attendants survived. , I talked with people who said that people next to them, even though they were pinned in, helped them with their free arm to get out. The jetliner, bound for Boise, Idaho, was airborne only a few seconds when it went down on a runway at Stapleton International Airport during a snowstorm. Two of the students and one of the adults were listed as missing and presumed dead today; the others are recovering from injuries. The last survivor was removed from the wreckage four hours after the crash. April 28 (UPI) -- A bear stuck in a Nevada tree was rescued by wildlife officials and firefighters who tranquilized the bruin and then caught the large animal in a tarp. [11] [12] [13] Investigators also discovered that before he began working for Continental, Bruecher had been dismissed from another airline after failing on three occasions to pass a flight examination. Everyone tried to find the exit door and they couldnt. ', Loaf of bread lures escaped pig back home in England. Linck, who was leaving on a hunting trip to Idaho, said he was pinned for about an hour, and part of the time talked with a girl who was pinned beneath him. Passengers, Witnesses Recall Fireball Crash of Continental Flight 1713 With PM-Plane Crash, Bjt. Not only as an inspiration to live each moment with gratitude, but to also appreciate the small moments in life - and small decisions. Screams that filled the cold air continue to fill Vermeulen's dreams. If youve ever seen an airplane crash, this is nothing in terms of fire, he said. "Just to process what had happened was pretty crazy," Jennifer Allegrezza, who was only 11 years old at the time of the crash, said. [1] Based on this, the NTSB concluded that a small amount of ice on the wings had caused Flight 1713 to have significant controllability problems. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? "I was on a professional track, and I was knocked off that track," Watson said. Vermeulen suffered four broken ribs and a punctured lung in the crash, but had recovered enough by late winter to run in the Long Beach, Calif., marathon. Two flight attendants and 52 passengers survived. Fellow survivor Ken Watson has no such demons. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Passengers, Witnesses Recall "Fireball" Crash of Continental One flight attendant, Diana Mechling, 33, died in the crash; two other flight attendants survived. The crash killed 28 people. Nicholas Goldberg: Is God on the side of blasphemy laws? A total of 55 people survived the crash Sunday afternoon, many of them walking away from the twisted debris with just scratches and bruises. Fifty-four survived. Everyone was afraid of a fire, she said. Because that day 34 years ago, it was a small decision that saved their lives. Chicago mayor calls on Texas to cease sending migrants to the city, Daughter of Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Shaquil Barrett drowns in family pool, First Republic Bank seized by regulators, sold to JPMorgan Chase, Florida Panthers rally past Boston Bruins for NHL playoff series upset, SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches following aborted mission, delays. [1] The left side of the DC-9 and cockpit struck the ground next and the DC-9 continued rolling, inverted. April 28 (UPI) -- An isolated private island off the coast of Scotland is for sale with an asking price of about $188,000. Continental Airlines flight 1713 He said he hopes the service 'will bring everyone together in a positive way. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Continental Airlines Flight 1713 was taking off from Stapleton Airport for Boise, Idaho. It has since been decommissioned and the property was redeveloped as a retail and residential neighborhood. The NTSB said Bruecher, who had only 36 hours of flight time in a DC-9, was at the controls when the plane took off. A lot are about just any plane crash. . Cipri said he heard one man trapped in the fuselage yelling, Get me out of here 3/8 but the man was dead by the time rescuers reached him. Kenneth Watson, 45, Nampa, Idaho, critical but stable. Agency Seeks Data. Robert Benzon, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator, said the board is studying several factors, including seating, to explain why some passengers died and others escaped with minor injuries. The flight, which left in a blinding snowstorm, was en route to Boise with 77 passengers and a crew of five. The two had no idea that a simple seat change would ultimately allow them to live another day. With his parents, Vermeulen is promoting a first anniversary memorial service at the First Presbyterian Church in Boise on Nov. 15 to remember the 28 victims. [7], The NTSB investigated the accident. The decision found the airlines guilty of "reckless misconduct" but innocent of gross negligence. He spent the next 10 hours wondering why he hadn't. 'Fog of bees' briefly interrupts PGA Tour's Mexico Open. The haunting memories of Continental 1713, Carolyn Holly reports on 1987 Denver-Boise crash, Pre-crash photos of the airliner at airliners.net, Continental Airlines, Inc., Flight 1713, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14, N626TX, Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado, November 15, 1987, Registration Details for N626TX (Continental Air Lines) DC-9-14 - PlaneLogger, Continental pilot, co-pilot were inexperienced, Plane Crashes in Snow at Denver; 26 of the 82 Aboard Are Killed, Inquiry Into Denver Jet Crash Looks at Possible Ice Buildup, Rescue Coordinator Testifies In Continental Crash Hearing, Airline Says Several Errors Caused Crash Fatal to 28, U.S. Panel Lays Denver Air Crash To Failure to De-ice Second Time, Pilot in Denver Air Crash Had Failed 3 Flight Exams, http://www.aviationexplorer.com/audio/delta_1141.wav. Douglas Fels of Kennewick, Wash., suffered only cuts and bruises after being ejected, still strapped in his seat. --Mechanical failure. [5] At 13:03, Flight 1713 taxied from its gate to the deicing pad; unfortunately, air traffic controllers were not aware that Flight 1713 had departed the gate because the flight crew had done so without first requesting taxi clearance. [15], Investigators determined that 27 minutes elapsed between the conclusion of deicing and Flight 1713's attempt to take off, seven minutes longer than should have been allowed to elapse before takeoff. He had been upgraded to captain less than three weeks earlier. Ann Nasrallah, 22, Jacksonville, Fla., critical. Dates*. No plans were made for a second observance, which some attribute to a yearning by survivors to get on with their lives. Burnett noted that safety board files show that three DC-9 jets similar to the jet that crashed Sunday, called a DC-9-10, have crashed because of ice buildup on the leading edges of their wings. Bruecher was the pilot flying at the time of the accident. A lot of people were screaming. [1] When the NTSB later issued its report on Delta 1141, it found that the Delta crew had also engaged in non-pertinent conversation, including a discussion of the cockpit voice recorder from the crash of Continental 1713.[16]. Daniel and his lawyer, David Comstock of Boise, admit to being exasperated by the legal meanderings. May 1 (UPI) -- Police in England said a pig spotted running loose on a village road was returned to its owner thanks to a loaf of bread. Reports from rescue workers indicated that most passengers who were thrown out of the plane were killed. [2] [1] In 21 years of service, it had accumulated over 52,400 flight hours and over 61,800 cycles. Ice contamination shown on a wing. It broke into three large chunks of metal and slid a quarter-mile down the runway. Bonnie Smith, El Paso, ?Texas, age unknown. Max Richter, 45, Boise. Stapleton was replaced by Denver International Airport in 1995. My psychiatrist tells me that the same thing happened in the crash. But somehow it didnt.. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Wildfires in Anchorage? The whole fuselage twisted like a chicken whose neck was wrung, said airport official Richard Boulware. Vermeulen, 24, was an off-duty Continental flight attendant at the time, on his way home to Boise, Idaho, to be with his parents for Thanksgiving. . Dr. Ron Semlow of Troy, Mich., said he looked out the window and saw the other plane somersault. On September 27, 1988, the NTSB published a final report on its investigation into the crash, attributing the accident to the captain's failure to have the plane deiced a second time, the first officer's poor takeoff performance, confusion between the pilots and air traffic controllers, which contributed to delays, compounded by a cockpit crew where both pilots were relatively inexperienced on the aircraft type. "I'd say there was more frustration than gratification, watching what delays will do to people.". Documents supplied by Continental on Monday indicated that the system had not been fully tested because after it was installed in early 1987, the winter turned mild. We were skidding on our side and eating dirt, said crash survivor Libby Smoot of Ketchum, Idaho. WebDead of Winter (Season 18, Episode 10), featuring Continental Airlines Flight 1713. Another passenger died Monday, bringing the death toll to 27. 1 Adult. Frank B. Zvonek, 42, Continental pilot, Carlsbad, Calif. First Officer Lee Edward Bruecher, 26, Houston, Texas. DENVER (AP) _ Here are the people who died as a result of the crash of Continental Flight 1713, based on information provided by the airline, the Denver Department of Health and Hospitals and the Denver County Coroners Office: Capt. Russia missile attack on Ukraine injures 34, damages homes, Far from Russia, a pro-Moscow sliver of land tries to cling to its identity and keep war at bay, Man who lost wife, son in Texas mass shooting tells story. In 1982, after an Air Florida jet became ice-bound and crashed into the Potomac River on takeoff from Washington`s National Airport, the board recommended that the FAA require pilots and ground crews to inspect wings and control surfaces whenever an airplane remained on the ground 20 minutes after being de-iced. . See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. "As time passed, I became more confident that we were going to be all right . The technical writer, who lost an eye in the crash, sought millions of dollars and wound up with $800,000 in compensation. Six students -- nearly one-fifth of the senior class -- and their two adult advisers from Melba High School were returning from a Future Farmers of America convention. More than half of the survivors were only slightly injured, and 21 were able to walk away. He made five flights before he had to stop because of the terrible nightmares. "I was going to do a talk at an outfitter meeting on Monday the next day. That ''de-icing pad'' consists of a remotely operated setup of hoses mounted on booms that spray antifreeze on a jet, similar to what is done at a car wash. As the world would soon discover, a co-pilot with a questionable training record and only 36 hours of experience flying commercial aircraft was at the controls. Thanksgiving seemed an awfully good thing to think about.. Paschkov was uninjured but suffered shock, and Melissa was in fair condition, being tested for internal injuries. The plane sat on the ground 27 minutes after being de-iced, although Continental's policy requires de-icing every 20 minutes. Planes are grounded at Stapleton when forward visibility drops to less than 1,600 feet because ''that visibility indicates heavy amounts of snow and ice in the air,'' Burnett explained. April 28 (UPI) -- A lost dog in Northern Ireland was found 26 days later after walking more than 40 miles to the home of his former owners. [1] Investigators also concluded that enough wet snow landed on Flight 1713 after deicing was complete to melt and dilute the deicing fluid, which allowed ice to reform on the wings. She was rubbing his hands to keep him as warm as possible, Hicks said. U.S. District Judge Sherman Finesilver held that all but a few more recently filed cases were bound by Johnson's "exemplar" judgment, and thus could not seek punitive damages. Burnett said those preliminary interviews indicate the following scenario: Just after it disappeared into the white wall of snow out of view of the next plane awaiting takeoff, the DC-9 pitched violently to the left, then to the right, and flipped over, landing on its back. [1] Specifically, the NTSB concluded: After the crash, Continental Airlines reiterated its procedures for handling deicing and developed a computerized assignment program that would prevent green-on-green crewing or keep pilots with fewer than 100 hours flying time in type from being assigned to the same flight. "The person that was sitting in the seat that I was supposed to sit in isn't here. Aviation officials said that the black boxes were expected to yield helpful data about the planes final moments. But I'm still every day waking up trying to figure out what that is," Jennifer Allegrezza said. survival-factors group is trying to piece together its own a seating chart. If you imagine where the plane split apart was like a shovel, it was digging into the dirt at the end of the runway," Jennifer Allegrezza said. WebBook with miles. Two years after Continental Airlines flight 1713 crashed while on take-off at Denver's Stapleton International Airport killing 28 people, memories among survivors still are vivid and their hearts and minds still are healing. Many survivors and other witnesses said they saw a ball of flame shortly before the plane went down, although rescuers and airport officials say the wreckage shows few signs of charring and few injuries were caused by fire. Reddit [1] As the DC-9 was taking off, the pilot in control over-rotated; the DC-9 descended and the left wing struck the ground, causing the wing to separate. I play the same scenario all the time. Dog missing for 26 days walked 40 miles to his former home. "After a few minutes of euphoria, I thought, 'We're going to burn now,' " Helpenstell recalled. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. I didn't have control of the plane, but when it crashed I took over and had control.'. Reporting on early interviews and the first examination of the wreckage, Burnett acknowledged that the first order of business will include exploring suspicions such as those expressed by Allegrezza that the crash was caused by ice buildup on the wings, a phenomenon aviators call ''leading edge accretion.''. The National Transportation Safety Board ruled Sept. 27 that ice on the plane's wings and relative inexperience of the two pilots were the major contributing factors of the crash. Watson recently joined the majority of survivors in accepting a settlement offer from the airline's insurance carrier. WebContinental Airlines Flight 1713was a commercial airline flight that crashed while taking off in a snowstorm from Stapleton International Airportin Denver, Colorado, on The . Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. "There's no doubt in my mind that the anniversary will be a very black day for many of them," said Denver attorney John Breit, who has handled many of the survivors' lawsuits. ''We had a good de-icing treatment,'' Allegrezza said, ''but then the plane was still on the ground 20 or 25 minutes later and I could see snow on the wing. Then came the crash, serious head injuries and lengthy rehabilitation. Two more passengers died later. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Broke in the Middle. Helpenstell had been flying home from his father's funeral when the DC9 jetliner cartwheeled seconds after takeoff and skidded, almost upside down, for a quarter-mile on the ground. Fifty-four people survived. Two members of the working crew of Flight 1713 survived the crash, both flight attendants. Travelers. . "There was discomfort, but no hysteria," among the passengers as they hung upside down in their seat belts awaiting rescue, he recalled. He suffered hypothermia, despite rescuers attempts to warm trapped passengers with auxiliary power units. [1] Combined with the effects of ice on the wing, the high climb rate caused the plane's left wing to stall and the plane to begin rolling over. Continental Airlines Flight 1713 They were digging them out row by row, said Denver firefighter Joe Cipri. Diane McElhiney, 40, Mountain Home, Idaho, guarded. Continental Airlines Flight 1713 was a commercial airline flight that crashed while taking off in a snowstorm from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, on The Douglas DC-9 airliner, operated by Continental Airlines, was making a scheduled flight to Boise, Idaho. [1] Flight 1713 was Bruecher's first flight after a 24-day absence from flight duties and the NTSB concluded that this prolonged absence had eroded the newly hired first officer's retention of his recent training, which contributed to his poor takeoff performance.[1]. "My mind got banged around, and it left me different. Douglas Self, 29, Kennewick, Wash., fair. [1] Of the surviving passengers, 25 received minor injuries and 27 received serious injuries. She recalled that a man on one side of her made a gurgling sound when he breathed and a woman on the other side was bleeding. "I haven't found a way to put it out of my mind," said Dave Daniel, a Melba High School teacher, who lost his wife in the wreckage. Twenty-eight of the 82 people aboard died. The plane lifted off the ground, dipped one way and then back, caught a wing and flipped on its top. "And that was flying up in our face, along with snow, and gravel and rocks, and everything else.". DENVER (AP) _ Debi Paschkov says she woke from a doze aboard Continental Airlines Flight 1713 to feel the plane sliding on the runway and see a ball of fire right outside her window. [1] The first officer rotated the airplane at more than 6/sec or twice the recommended rate. Burnett said that while rather atrocious at the time, that does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that weather caused it.. Two members of the working crew of Flight 1713 survived the crash, both flight attendants. At the news briefings Tuesday, Burnett indicated that investigators are paying particular attention to suspicions that ice on the wings caused the disaster. The pounding he took in the Continental Airlines crash in Denver two years ago today has erased a full month from his consciousness. I found that if I could disconnect and think about how Thanksgiving would be, or something in the future, that would help. David Daniel, 45, Idaho, improved over serious. The pilot, Frank Zvonek, 43, had extensive experience in airplanes ranging from carrier-based Navy fighters to 727 widebody passenger jets, but he had only 33 hours` flight time as captain aboard the moderately sized DC-9s, and all of that had been in the warm weather months since June, Burnett said. Much of the testimony is expected to focus on the relative inexperience of the pilot and co-pilot, and on the weather. The board stressed that it was still too early to speculate on what caused the accident. . "I had time to think that a couple of times over. Because they all died there.". . From a layman's perspective, it seems to be very inefficient.". The toll rose to 28 late Tuesday with the death of James Marria, 38, of Boise, at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He's also teaching chemistry, but he finds his emotional energy level isn't what it used to be, and that is troubling. [10] However, the NTSB investigated the wake-turbulence theory and concluded that wake turbulence from the preceding flight would not have affected Flight 1713. Both airport officials and survivors, including Helpenstell, said the twin-engine DC-9 appeared to accelerate down Runway 35-Left and lift off normally. However, investigators were reported to be focusing on a number of possible factors: --The weather. Watson, 47, doesn't expect to dwell on what happened, although it has perhaps irrevocably altered his life. . Helpenstell was not alone in wondering how and why he and so many other passengers survived the accident. Some of those passengers were able to disentangle others from seat belts or wreckage. Some passengers on Flight 1713 were thrown from the plane by the impact. "I have a good deal of guilt," Helpenstell said today at Denver's St. Luke's Presbyterian Hospital. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Fatalities From Flight 1713 November 18, 1987 DENVER (AP) _ Here are the people who died as a result of the crash of Continental Flight 1713, based on The pilot, 43-year-old Frank Zvonek, was killed, as was First Officer Lee Bruecher, 26. [1] Not kept properly informed of Flight 1713s position, the air traffic controllers tried repeatedly to have different planes take off, leaving Flight 1713 standing in the falling snow for several minutes and opening the airliner to the risk of "wing contamination" by ice. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Continental Airlines Flight 1713". Neither Bruecher nor Zvonek had checked the wings for ice before taking off, the board said. The extent of her injuries was not known. Sometimes survivors feel guilty that they were not able to do anything to help other people in the situation, he said. Advanced search. But Laura Hobbs, of Eagle, Idaho, survived with minor injuries despite flying out of the plane and sliding along the snowy runway, still strapped into her seat. Anthony Nasballah, Jacksonville, Fla., age unknown. There were five crew members and 77 passengers aboard, most from Idaho. Continental said a memorial service for the victims was planned this afternoon at Denver University. S.C. woman wins $300,000 lottery prize -- her second jackpot in 3 years. Neither has returned to work. I was grateful that I would have a second chance.". Jim Burnett, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board team investigating the crash, said that it could take months to determine what caused the accident. The pair agreed the crash changed their lives. . the Nampa, Idaho, surgeon said today as he recovered from his remarkably minor injuries: hypothermia and a broken finger. 25 people died while the other 52 survived. His career outlook was bright. April 28 (UPI) -- Animal services officers in South Carolina responded to a home where a resident was shocked to find an alligator in his garage. April 28 (UPI) -- The PGA Tour's Mexico Open was briefly interrupted when a swarm of bees sent a group of golfers ducking in the grass. There will undoubtedly be tears shed - tears of joy for the 54 who lived, tears of sorrow for the 28 who perished. See the article in its original context from. Continental Airlines Flight 1713 was a commercial airline flight which crashed while taking off in a snowstorm from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, [1], The NTSB also determined that First Officer Bruecher's poor performance during takeoff had likely contributed to his loss of control of the airplane. It was like someone lit a can of gasoline. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Helpenstell could hear screams and cries of distress from some passengers, while others prayed quietly. "Just going through my life and being kind to people. Shaken survivors recounted the last terrible moments of Flight 1713 on Monday as federal investigators began trying to find out why the Continental jetliner crashed during a snowy takeoff from Denvers Stapleton International Airport. But a split-second later, he said, the plane began to tilt sharply to the right. Nearly 10 months after the crash, he tried to start working again. When the hurtling plane came to a rest -- its fuselage broken into three sections, its left wing sheared off -- Helpenstell was upside down in a fetal position, his head at the plane's floor and his back pressed against the seat in front of him. Rescue workers, their hair and faces coated with still-falling snow, set up bright stage lights around the darkened plane so they could see inside. An F.A.A. Officials from the N.T.S.B., the Federal Aviation Administration and the Aviation Safety Institute in Worthington, Ohio, said they never have studied the role of seat selection. Boise was selected because most of the victims were from the Boise area. --Fire. Survivors who talked about the crash and its aftermath described a few seconds of sheer horror, followed by a few moments of elation when they realized that they were alive and hours of waiting for rescue workers to cut them from the crumbled fuselage. Last year at this time, survivors and their families assembled for a memorial service in a Boise church. Frank Zvonek, 43, 18-year Continental pilot, Carlsbad, FLIGHT ATTENDANT TESTIFIES SHE TOLD PILOT William Spalsbury, age, hometown unknown. Robert Linck, 60, Green Pond, N.J., fair. A ball of flame passed by us as were skidding along.. WebThe impact and subsequent uncontrolled descent severed the right wing of the Cessna; the main wreckage and left wing were found in an empty parking lot 6,500 ft (2,000 m) from the approach end of runway 17. ''All I know is that the middle took it the worst,'' Mr. Benzon said. Plane crash survivors recall Continental Flight 1713 The tragic crash killed Twenty-six people, including pilot Frank Zvonek, 43, co-pilot Lee Edward Bruecher, 26, the chief flight attendant, were killed outright. Patti Halford, 27, Boise, Idaho, released. The whole thing did a somersault. Burnett noted that the jet had been on the ground longer than 20 minutes after it had been sprayed with antifreeze in preparation for takeoff. Continental merged with UAL Corporation (the parent company of United Airlines) via a stock swap in 2010, and the integration was completed in 2012. A U.S. District Court jury deliberated three days before awarding $779,000 to Karen Johnson of Boise, Idaho, plus $21,700 for her husband, Bob John Galipault, founder of the Aviation Safety Institute, said the front of an airplane hits first in most crashes. [1], At 13:51, Flight 1713 contacted the clearance delivery controller for permission to "taxi from the ice pad." People were hurting, Helpenstell said. , The people I talked to thought they were incredibly lucky and fortunate. The aircraft then skidded for about a quarter of a mile on its back, the tail and front sections breaking off and scattering passengers onto the snow- covered ground. He said she was rescued first and he never learned her name. His book on the 1960 election will be published next year. Allegrezza, a chiropractor from Boise, Idaho, was the first of the 54 surviving passengers to be interviewed by safety board investigators. The clearance delivery controller, believing that Flight 1713 was still at the gate and requesting to proceed to deicing, instructed the flight to contact Ground Control, who then cleared Flight 1713 to taxi to the deicing pad. The plane flipped on its left side and rolled over, breaking in the middle and at least one other place. Excess ice on wings can cripple a takeoff in snowy weather, but Continental said the plane was sprayed with a hot (190-degree) mixture of alcohol and water about 20 minutes before takeoff.