As survivors struggle to heal bodies and minds, a liability tug-of-war drags on, possibly for years to come. The plane was dark, wet and cold, as snow and wind blew in through the smashed fuselage. The flight, which left in a blinding snowstorm, was en route to Boise with 77 passengers and a crew of five. Douglas Self, 29, Kennewick, Wash., fair. British man breaks world record with 17 flesh tunnels on his face. and there was a thump--not a violent thing--and then it lurched to the left in the same way, the Idaho surgeon said. He said he hopes the service 'will bring everyone together in a positive way. , The people I talked to thought they were incredibly lucky and fortunate. 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. He had 3,186 flight hours, but only 36 hours on the DC-9, which was the extent of his turbojet experience and he had not flown at all for the past 24 days. WebInitial survivor [ edit] The only person to initially survive the crash was Stephen Baltz, an 11-year-old boy from Wilmette, Illinois. Watson, 47, doesn't expect to dwell on what happened, although it has perhaps irrevocably altered his life. There were five crew members and 77 passengers aboard, most from Idaho. Burnett recalled that the FAA had rejected the suggestion, ''and we reconsidered and concurred. They began to pray, to cry with pain. He said he told her: Youre talking fast enough, youve got to be getting oxygen.. Investigators interviewed eight of the Continental survivors and several people who saw the crash from a United Airlines jet landing on the next runway. [1] The remaining 52 passengers and two flight attendants survived. Continental said a memorial service for the victims was planned this afternoon at Denver University. 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. 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] It was originally delivered to Air Canada in May 1966 and sold to Texas International Airlines in 1968, where it served the majority of its service until Texas International was acquired by Continental in 1982. Linck said a fireball erupted through the passenger compartment about five seconds after takeoff and the plane pitched wildly out of control. The plane sat on the ground 27 minutes after being de-iced, although Continental's policy requires de-icing every 20 minutes. ', Loaf of bread lures escaped pig back home in England. Flight 1713 was operated using a 21-year old McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14, a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner with the registration number N626TX. Both airport officials and survivors, including Helpenstell, said the twin-engine DC-9 appeared to accelerate down Runway 35-Left and lift off normally. requires airlines to store voice and data recorders toward the rear. 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. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. [1] Fitzsimons Army Medical Center sent its personnel to assist in the triage of passengers and 10 hospitals treated the survivors. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Wildfires in Anchorage? 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. The pilot, 43-year-old Frank Zvonek, was killed, as was First Officer Lee Bruecher, 26. "My mind got banged around, and it left me different. John Galipault, founder of the Aviation Safety Institute, said the front of an airplane hits first in most crashes. "I was sliding along the ground," an animated Hobbs said today. [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. 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. DENVER -- Paul Vermeulen still has nightmares about last Nov. 15, and figures he probably always will. The extent of her injuries was not known. 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. All Rights Reserved, SCARS REMAIN FROM DENVER DC-9 CRASH 2 YEARS LATER. spokesman, Ted Lopatkiewicz, said an N.T.S.B. Fifty-four people survived. See the article in its original context from. The aircraft went up about 100 feet before it turned upside down and landed on its roof, according to Tom Allegrezza. [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. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded the plane wasn't sufficiently deiced before takeoff. Another passenger died Monday, bringing the death toll to 27. 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. During the six weeks he tried to work this fall, takeoffs and landings were a white-knuckle experience that seemed to get worse. While the wreckage was not charred, Burnett said he saw evidence of soot in the debris. Robbie Knapp, Boise, Idaho, fair. 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. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Here is a partial list of fatalities in the crash Sunday of Continental Flight 1713 in Denver: Capt. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Of the 82 people aboard, 55 emerged alive. Flight attendant Diana Mechling, 33, Aurora. They were digging them out row by row, said Denver firefighter Joe Cipri. 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.''. [1], Continental Airlines Flight 1713 was scheduled to depart Denver at 12:25, but many flights out of Denver that day were delayed by the inclement weather. The pounding he took in the Continental Airlines crash in Denver two years ago today has erased a full month from his consciousness. Then came the crash, serious head injuries and lengthy rehabilitation. 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. An F.A.A. On that date last year, Vermeulen was sitting in the first-class section of Continental Airlines Flight 1713 as it began rolling down the snow-covered Runway 35-Left at Stapleton International Airport. [1] [6], A total of 25 passengers and three crew members died due to the crash; the final two fatalities succumbed while hospitalized. [1] In addition, five passengers died of head injuries secondary to blunt trauma and 9 passengers died of asphyxia. Allegrezza, a chiropractor from Boise, Idaho, was the first of the 54 surviving passengers to be interviewed by safety board investigators. We were skidding on our side and eating dirt, said crash survivor Libby Smoot of Ketchum, Idaho. 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. [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. Some were screaming, but most people were real calm - just waiting their turns to get out.. My weight pushing against the seat belt made it impossible for me to open the buckle with my right hand. He was traveling unaccompanied on Flight 826 to spend Christmas in Yonkers with relatives. A lot of people were screaming. The tragic crash killed 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. 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 Daniel is pressing one of approximately 15 remaining lawsuits. "The person that was sitting in the seat that I was supposed to sit in isn't here. The whole thing did a somersault. 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. Hugh Ford, 63, Boise, Idaho, serious but stable. Flexible dates. The NTSB said it is still too early to tell whether there was any major system malfunction. [1] According to the aircraft's manufacturer, even a modest amount of ice contamination on the upper wing could impair the lifting performance of the wings and lead to loss of roll and pitch control. WebNEW EPISODE INFO Season 18, Episode 10 will feature Continental Airlines Flight 1713 (15 November 1987) and is titled 'Dead Of Winter'. A fuel-fed flash fire ignited in the left wing shortly after it struck the ground, causing a "fireball" inside the cabin. The crash was observed by passengers on a Continental flight that was returning to Denver from a Las Vegas, Nev., convention of psychiatrists. [1] [4] [5] Notable victims [ edit] Several famous passengers were among the dead, including: Former world lightweight boxing champion Carlos Cruz, his wife and their two children. Adding to speculation about icing being at fault in the crash was the acknowledgment by Continental officials on Monday that the airline used a new system designed especially to speed up the de-icing operation at Stapleton. 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. AIR DATE is July 4, 2018 for Discovery Canada and July 6, 2018 for Nat Geo Australia. Everyone tried to find the exit door and they couldnt. The plane flipped on its left side and rolled over, breaking in the middle and at least one other place. From a layman's perspective, it seems to be very inefficient.". I was grateful that I would have a second chance.". . The cabin crew consisted of three flight attendants. No plans were made for a second observance, which some attribute to a yearning by survivors to get on with their lives. Burnett said that while rather atrocious at the time, that does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that weather caused it.. Two of the 54 survivors were Tom and Jennifer Allegrezza. 'Fog of bees' briefly interrupts PGA Tour's Mexico Open. April 29 (UPI) -- An Australian tourist facing possible flogging after being accused of going on a drunken nude rampage in the Indonesian province of Ache says he felt "almost possessed" at the time. They expect to spend many months probing why the jet, taking off for Boise, crashed in a blinding snowstorm Sunday, killing 28. "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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. The left wing exploded in a ball of fire. Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is Copyright 2009-2022, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Screams that filled the cold air continue to fill Vermeulen's dreams. Climate change sparks disaster fears, Police manhunt continues for suspect in Texas mass shooting, A powerhouse U.S. doctor slain in Sudan, killed for nothing, In final Mass in Budapest, pope urges Hungary to open doors, What GOPs plan for Medicaid work requirements would mean. 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. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. We have one rule in our house and it's 'Do the right thing.' (Certificates, multi-city and upgrades) Bag rules and fees for optional services. BIOG: On Nov. 15, 1987, a Boise-bound DC-9 jetliner flipped and crashed shortly after takeoff at the busy Denver airport. 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. Broke in the Middle. BOISE, Idaho It was 34 years ago that Continental Flight 1713 en route to Boise crashed on the runway of Denver's old Stapleton Airport. . saying, well, that couldnt possibly be me . The plane crashed during takeoff Sunday, killing 26 people and injuring 56. (The airline had erroneously said Sunday that the flight had come from Oklahoma City.). Helpenstell could hear screams and cries of distress from some passengers, while others prayed quietly. Continental said the 21-year-old plane passed its last routine inspection Oct. 27 and had flown only 126 hours since then. James Marria, 38, Boise, Idaho, critical. ''We call it a slick-wing aircraft,'' Burnett said of the DC-9-10, which was introduced in 1966. The technical writer, who lost an eye in the crash, sought millions of dollars and wound up with $800,000 in compensation. None of the 20 passengers in the last four rows of Continental Airlines' Flight 1713 died when the DC-9 crashed just after takeoff a week ago today, a survey shows. Nearly 10 months after the crash, he tried to start working again. But many other passengers had to wait until rescue crews with heavy tools could cut them loose. The last survivor was removed from the wreckage four hours after the crash. Helpenstell, who escaped with only a broken finger and chills, was trapped in the wreckage for more than two hours before a man named Larry was able to free him. 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. 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. "When I got back to the present and started thinking about things, that was kind of scary.". The intensity of his memory has lessened a little in the year that has passed, but Vermeulen now believes he'll never be able to work as a flight attendant again. Paschkov said her seat and others became unbolted so that when the plane came to a stop upside down she was seated right side up while her daughter was hanging upside down. Fifty-four survived. [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]. "I lay awake all night, not tossing or turning, but wondering: Why did I get out?" 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. As he emerged into the arms of a fireman, he began to realize how fortunate he was. . His career outlook was bright. He said that the planes two black boxes were both recovered in good condition and sent to Washington for analysis. The plane crashed during takeoff Sunday, killing 26 people and injuring 56. The board stressed that it was still too early to speculate on what caused the accident. "There was discomfort, but no hysteria," among the passengers as they hung upside down in their seat belts awaiting rescue, he recalled. Fellow survivor Ken Watson has no such demons. 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. My left hand was jammed between the seat and part of the plane`s roof, which had bent down,'' he said, waving a left arm swathed in white gauze bandages. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. Both pilots and 26 others on the plane were killed. It happened so slowly that I had the time to think it three times, said Dr. Fred Helpenstell, a 56-year-old orthopedic surgeon from Nampa, Ida. Thanksgiving seemed an awfully good thing to think about.. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Before boarding the plane, he was the academic head at Nampa's Northwest Nazarene College. 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. Reports from rescue workers indicated that most passengers who were thrown out of the plane were killed. The NTSB investigative team, which arrived here Monday from Washington, will begin probing the wreckage today for further clues. He made five flights before he had to stop because of the terrible nightmares. "I remember thinking, 'I'm going to die,' " Helpenstell said today. Twenty-eight of the 82 people aboard died. Frank B. Zvonek, 42, Continental pilot, Carlsbad, Calif. First Officer Lee Edward Bruecher, 26, Houston, Texas. 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. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) characterized the crash as "nonsurvivable". Some of those passengers were able to disentangle others from seat belts or wreckage. I never passed out. S.C. woman wins $300,000 lottery prize -- her second jackpot in 3 years. Neither has returned to work. The News said at least 17 of the 25 passengers killed sat in rows eight through 15 - the middle section near where the plane broke into pieces. 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. The psychiatrist said many of the survivors had not yet felt the emotional impact of the event, but might eventually experience insomnia, nightmares, flashbacks and guilt. Anyone can read what you share. 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. Airline officials confirmed that the DC-9 was briefly airborne before it veered off the slushy runway and slammed into a shallow gully. "So I moved everybody from the front of the plane to the back of the plane. Of the 27 still hospitalized, six were listed in critical condition. Cookie policy. Two other survivors, Robert Linck, 60, of Green Pond, N. J., and Laura Hobbs, 20, of Eagle, Ida., also told dramatic stories on Monday. 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. 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. 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. Aussie tourist 'very sorry' for drunken, nude rampage in Indonesia. "Just to process what had happened was pretty crazy," Jennifer Allegrezza, who was only 11 years old at the time of the crash, said. 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. spokesman, Fred Farrar, also played down the role of seat selection, although he conceded that the F.A.A. Anthony Nasballah, Jacksonville, Fla., age unknown. Dr. Jonathan Ritvo, director of psychiatric emergency services at Denver General Hospital, said he was impressed with the human spirit that comes out at times like these . David Daniel, 45, Idaho, improved over serious. He spent the next 10 hours wondering why he hadn't. The cold was horrible. It was like someone lit a can of gasoline. Continental Airlines Flight 1713 was taking off from Stapleton Airport for Boise, Idaho. 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. Robert Linck, 60, Green Pond, N.J., fair. The News said at A lot are about just any plane crash. As the DC-9 skidded, the left side was tilted over and the tail was inverted; this action caused the middle part of the DC-9 to compress and crush many of the passengers on board. Stapleton International Airport spokesman Richard Boulware speculated the fire may have been the result of a gas tank catching fire behind the plane. He returned to a new job at the college in January: assistant to the president. "I thought, my Lord," he said today. [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. It has since been decommissioned and the property was redeveloped as a retail and residential neighborhood. Example video title will go here for this video. I heard that one young man, among the first out, went back in to help extricate people., Ritvo said the survivors he saw were really bearing up heroically . Twenty-five passengers and three crew members died in the crash.[1]. "I was going to do a talk at an outfitter meeting on Monday the next day. Engelhardt, of Denver, was released from the hospital Monday but asked not to be disturbed. 'We'll have a church service for everyone that wants to come, and then a reception just for the families and survivors,' he said. . , 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. A total of 55 people survived the crash Sunday afternoon, many of them walking away from the twisted debris with just scratches and bruises. Eventually, they cut a hole in the side of the plane beside him and slid him out feet first. I'm thinking that maybe there should be a national organization for plane crash survivors. 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. I just hoped that it wouldnt hurt too much.. WebContinental Airlines Flight 1713was a commercial airline flight that crashed while taking off in a snowstorm from Stapleton International Airportin Denver, Colorado, on The Caldwell police arrest New Jersey man suspected of sexually assaulting teen, 'It was a real surprise': Eagle Senior Center Inc. frustrated with city's decision to terminate lease, Record heat continues with isolated t-storms, then cooler by Friday, Flood watch in effect for portions of southeast Idaho, Wood River Foothills, 1 dead at site of small plane crash near Snoqualmie Pass, Plane crashes into building near Milan; all 8 aboard die, Remembering 9/11 through the eyes of three Idahoans. He said he was wedged between the wall of the plane on his right side and another trapped passenger on his left. 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 There was a big gasp on our flight, he said. [7], The NTSB investigated the accident. One flight attendant, Diana Mechling, 33, died in the crash; two other flight attendants survived. --Human error. I thought I was going to die. Helpenstell, who was returning from his fathers funeral, was wedged into a fetal position for what seemed like an eternity in temperatures that plunged below freezing. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? And the plane had split apart. Survivors of the crash said that, in the moments after the plane careened to a halt, many were able to free themselves from their seat belts and squirm through the shattered fuselage onto the snowy grass between two runways. Richard D. Verheul, 54, Stuart, Fla. A partial list of survivors includes: Paul Vermuelen, 23, Boise, Idaho, serious. In the crash I was involved in, I went in and started helping people. April 28 (UPI) -- A Nebraska high school said it broke a Guinness World Record when more than 1,000 students participated in a water balloon toss event. Nebraska students toss water balloons for Guinness World Record. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. But like investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board he suspects that the DC-9 jet may have had a fatal buildup of ice on its wings while awaiting takeoff Sunday. Helpenstell recalled today that rescuers reached him fairly soon after the crash but were unable to move him until they had removed several rows of seats behind him. "And that was flying up in our face, along with snow, and gravel and rocks, and everything else.". But a split-second later, he said, the plane began to tilt sharply to the right. . 0:41 Here is a partial list of fatalities in the crash Sunday of Continental Flight 1713 in Denver: Capt. Bonnie Smith, El Paso, ?Texas, age unknown. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Economy. [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. 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. It is not in use anywhere else. . Douglas Fels of Kennewick, Wash., suffered only cuts and bruises after being ejected, still strapped in his seat. "It's really eye-opening to see how long the process takes. 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. Continental has since boosted its minimum-experience standards for pilots - the biggest reform to spring from the tragedy.
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