Where there was tragedy, there were also miracles, and stories of tremendous luck and even greater courage. [1], During the investigation, the crew's low levels of experience on the DC-9 were brought up as possible causes. ''I was hanging upside down in my seat. He had been upgraded to captain less than three weeks earlier. There were five crew members and 77 passengers aboard, most from Idaho. 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. Twenty-six people, including pilot Frank Zvonek, 43, co-pilot Lee Edward Bruecher, 26, the chief flight attendant, were killed outright. [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. A ball of flame passed by us as were skidding along.. [1] Having already completed deicing, Flight 1713's crew seem to have interpreted this new clearance to mean they could now taxi from the pad and proceed to the runway. 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 . The whole thing did a somersault. Tom Allegrezza, 45, Meridian, Idaho, serious. , The people I talked to thought they were incredibly lucky and fortunate. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) characterized the crash as "nonsurvivable". 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. As he emerged into the arms of a fireman, he began to realize how fortunate he was. 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 N.T.S.B. Watson recently joined the majority of survivors in accepting a settlement offer from the airline's insurance carrier. --Human error. The plane was dark, wet and cold, as snow and wind blew in through the smashed fuselage. S.C. woman wins $300,000 lottery prize -- her second jackpot in 3 years. The extent of her injuries was not known. Bruecher was the pilot flying at the time of the accident. We have one rule in our house and it's 'Do the right thing.' Agency Seeks Data. 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. Continental Airlines Flight 1713 was a commercial airline flight which crashed while taking off in a snowstorm from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, I thought, Oh my God, this is going to burn, Helpenstell said. Those riding the Denver-to-Boise flight included a group of eight from the high school in the tiny town of Melba, just south of Boise. [2] [1] In 21 years of service, it had accumulated over 52,400 flight hours and over 61,800 cycles. The aircraft went up about 100 feet before it turned upside down and landed on its roof, according to Tom Allegrezza. Cookie policy. The crash was the subject of episode 10, season 18 of Mayday, titled "Dead of Winter". NAME: Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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. "I feel guilty because people died. Reports from rescue workers indicated that most passengers who were thrown out of the plane were killed. ''I could smell the stink of kerosene and I couldn`t stop thinking about how a spark could set the thing off like a bomb. 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. "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. But if you ask me if I would have rather died, I would say no.". [1] The aircraft was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7B engines. WebThis flight crashed due to loss of control from atmospheric icing and pilot error. 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. At his first news conference, Burnett said the disaster might have been prevented had federal officials taken precautions about de-icing aircraft that the safety board recommended in 1982. The NTSB concluded that a build-up of ice on the wings of Flight 1713 had contaminated the surfaces of both of the wings prior to departure, based on reports from surviving passengers that they had seen "patches" of ice on the wings after deicing was complete. In February 1990, Reader's Digest detailed the flight crew and some of the passengers in its article "Miracle In The Blizzard.". "So I moved everybody from the front of the plane to the back of the plane. 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. 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. Some passengers on Flight 1713 were thrown from the plane by the impact. 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. 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. Nicholas Goldberg: Is God on the side of blasphemy laws? Two of the students and one of the adults were listed as missing and presumed dead today; the others are recovering from injuries. [3] The first officer was 26-year-old Lee Edward Bruecher, hired by Continental four months earlier; he had previously flown for Rio Airways[3] and passed his initial proficiency check in the DC-9 in mid-September. The whole fuselage twisted like a chicken whose neck was wrung, said airport official Richard Boulware. Watson, 47, doesn't expect to dwell on what happened, although it has perhaps irrevocably altered his life. He returned to a new job at the college in January: assistant to the president. The tragic crash killed A lot of people were screaming. As survivors struggle to heal bodies and minds, a liability tug-of-war drags on, possibly for years to come. Airline officials confirmed that the DC-9 was briefly airborne before it veered off the slushy runway and slammed into a shallow gully. . Continental Airlines Flight 1713 crashed while taking off in a snowstorm from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado on 15 November 1987. Fellow survivor Ken Watson has no such demons. Vermeulen was the only person in the front section of the DC-9 to survive. The plane skidded through the freshly fallen snow for more than 1,500 feet, overturning and finally breaking into three major pieces, scattering baggage and debris in its icy wake. But a split-second later, he said, the plane began to tilt sharply to the right. 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. 25 people died while the other 52 survived. Dr. Fred Helpenstell, 56, Nampa, Idaho, released. 1 More posts from the aircrashinvestigation community 137 Posted by u/Yeet_Man1982 7 days ago Incident/Accident Fifty-four people survived. He was thrown from the plane into a snowbank, where his burning clothing was extinguished. Since the fatal crash, the two have collected countless newspapers and laminated clippings from reports of the crash. Anthony Nasballah, Jacksonville, Fla., age unknown. Some of those passengers were able to disentangle others from seat belts or wreckage. the Nampa, Idaho, surgeon said today as he recovered from his remarkably minor injuries: hypothermia and a broken finger. Boise was selected because most of the victims were from the Boise area. His book on the 1960 election will be published next year. Aviation officials said that the black boxes were expected to yield helpful data about the planes final moments. Two hours after the crash, Allegrezza finally was cut loose from the wreckage and taken to a Denver hospital. . So I wanted to sit in the back with my secretaries so they could take notes and type it up for me," Tom Allegrezza recalled. 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. '', Continental has declined to release seating information, saying it may be inaccurate because passengers frequently switch seats. 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. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded the plane wasn't sufficiently deiced before takeoff. --Icing. The two had no idea that a simple seat change would ultimately allow them to live another day. Kenneth Watson, 45, Nampa, Idaho, critical but stable. British man breaks world record with 17 flesh tunnels on his face. The plane flipped on its left side and rolled over, breaking in the middle and at least one other place. 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. Another passenger died Monday, bringing the death toll to 27. Dates*. . 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. He said that the planes two black boxes were both recovered in good condition and sent to Washington for analysis. Example video title will go here for this video. WebSurvivors: 54: Continental Airlines Flight 1713 was a commercial airline flight that crashed while taking off in a snowstorm from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, One flight attendant, Diana Mechling, 33, died in the crash; two other flight attendants survived. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Neither Bruecher nor Zvonek had checked the wings for ice before taking off, the board said. Two of the 54 survivors were Tom and Jennifer Allegrezza. The toll rose to 28 late Tuesday with the death of James Marria, 38, of Boise, at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. [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. "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. ''We call it a slick-wing aircraft,'' Burnett said of the DC-9-10, which was introduced in 1966. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. My weight pushing against the seat belt made it impossible for me to open the buckle with my right hand. 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 . More than half of the survivors were only slightly injured, and 21 were able to walk away. Everyone was afraid of a fire, she said. I found that if I could disconnect and think about how Thanksgiving would be, or something in the future, that would help. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. I just hoped that it wouldnt hurt too much.. Frank Zvonek, 43, 18-year Continental pilot, Carlsbad, Calif. First Officer Lee Bruecher, 26, Houston, Texas. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. The dead included a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old, both of whom had been riding on the laps of adult passengers. The crash was observed by passengers on a Continental flight that was returning to Denver from a Las Vegas, Nev., convention of psychiatrists. 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. 'Fog of bees' briefly interrupts PGA Tour's Mexico Open. WebThe aircraft then descended until it hit the sea about two miles south of the airport. The tail was coming over, and all the rest was in flames. Two years after Continental Airlines flight 1713 crashed while on take-off at Denver's Stapleton International Airport killing 28 people, memories among survivors The left wing exploded in a ball of fire. Two flight attendants and 52 passengers survived. [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. survival-factors group is trying to piece together its own a seating chart. 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. 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. . . There was a big gasp on our flight, he said. . Here is a partial list of fatalities in the crash Sunday of Continental Flight 1713 in Denver: Capt. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Wildfires in Anchorage? Paschkov trembled as she recalled how she and another passenger lifted Melissa up through a tiny hole in a pile of seats inside the wreckage. Continental said the 21-year-old plane passed its last routine inspection Oct. 27 and had flown only 126 hours since then. Vermeulen still is undergoing psychiatric care because of the feelings he has about the crash. The pair agreed the crash changed their lives. 1 Adult. 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. Douglas Fels of Kennewick, Wash., suffered only cuts and bruises after being ejected, still strapped in his seat. WebOn November 15, 1987, Continental Airlines, Inc., flight 1713, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14, N626TX, was operating as a regularly scheduled, passenger-carrying flight between 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. [1], The captain was 43-year-old Frank B. Zvonek Jr., who had been with Continental Airlines since 1969. I remember thinking, Im going to die 3/8 This is it 3/8 and then I wondered what its going to feel like, Helpenstell said of the moments before the crash. And so, as far as it shaped me who I am because Im just glad to be here more than anything.". 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. Robbie Knapp, Boise, Idaho, fair. Travelers. Two members of the working crew of Flight 1713 survived the crash, both flight attendants. While the wreckage was not charred, Burnett said he saw evidence of soot in the debris. 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. Interviewed by The Tribune minutes after he met with a safety board investigator and a representative of the Federal Aviation Administration, Allegrezza described his nightmare of awaiting rescue after the airplane flipped over on the runway and slid a quarter of a mile in a ditch before coming to rest upside down in a pool of freezing slush. 0:41 Here is a partial list of fatalities in the crash Sunday of Continental Flight 1713 in Denver: Capt. I play the same scenario all the time. April 28 (UPI) -- A South Carolina woman won a $300,000 prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket just three years after winning a $250,000 lottery jackpot. "My face and my arm were in the snow.". Screams that filled the cold air continue to fill Vermeulen's dreams. 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. 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. There was total calm on the ship.. They eventually were able to put up large space heaters to warm the trapped passengers as temperatures fell and night winds blew. WebThe left side of the plane and the flight deck hit the ground afterward and the plane continued to roll upside down. . Continental Airlines Flight 1713 was mentioned in the 1988 film Rain Man.[17]. The last survivor was removed from the wreckage four hours after the crash. He spent the next 10 hours wondering why he hadn't. [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. 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. --Fire. I can remember saying to the guy next to me, Weve had it, something like that, Linck said, and smack. Helpenstell was not alone in wondering how and why he and so many other passengers survived the accident. Web22 Continental Flight 1713 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 22 Continental Flight 1713 Premium High ''I had a feeling most people who died were in the front,'' said Shirley Weltz, 49 years old, who sat three rows from the back of the plane. Continental has since boosted its minimum-experience standards for pilots - the biggest reform to spring from the tragedy. "Just going through my life and being kind to people. 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.
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