Event Details


Title:Crash after takeoff due to icing, Continental Airlines, Inc., Flight 1713, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14, N626TX, Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado, November 15, 1987
Micro summary:This Douglas DC-9-14 crashed shortly after takeoff, due to ice contamination.
Event Time:1987-11-15 at 1415:43 MST
File Name:1987-11-15-US.pdf
Publishing Agency:National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
Publishing Country:USA
Report number:NTSB-AAR-88-09
Pages:98
Site of event:Right side of RWY 35L
Latitude/Longitude:N39°46'28", W104°53'45"
Departure:Denver Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado, USA
Destination:Boise Airport, Boise, Idaho, USA
Airplane Type(s):Douglas DC-9-14
Flight Phase:Takeoff
Registration(s):N626TX
Operator(s):Continental Airlines
Type of flight:Revenue
Occupants:82
Fatalities:28
Serious Injuries:28
Minor/Non-Injured:26
Other Injuries:0
Executive Summary:On 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 Denver, Colorado, and Boise, Idaho. The airplane was cleared to take off following a delay of approximately 27 minutes after deicing. The takeoff roll was uneventful, but following a rapid rotation, the airplane crashed off the right side of runway 35 left. Both pilots, 1 flight attendant, and 25 passengers sustained fatal injuries. Two flight attendants and 52 passengers survived.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the captain's failure to have the airplane deiced a second time after a delay before takeoff that led to upper wing surface contamination and a loss of control during rapid takeoff rotation by the first officer. Contributing to the accident were the absence of regulatory or management controls governing operations by newly qualified flightcrew members and the confusion that existed between the flightcrew and air traffic controllers that led to the delay in departure. The safety issues discussed in this report include:

pilot training;

aircraft deicing procedures; and

wingtip vortex generation and lifespan.

Recommendations concerning these issues were addressed to the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Fire Protection Association, the American Association of Airport Executives, the Airport Operators Council International, and Continental Airlines, Inc.
Learning Keywords:Operations - Icing
Operations - Pilot Experience - Pairing
Operations - Uncontrolled Flight into Terrain
Operations - Upset - Wake vortex/jet blast
Consequence - Hull Loss

 




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