Just throwing out there that on this Thursday, November 15th, it will have been 20 years since Continental Airlines flight 1713, a DC-9-10 operating Denver to Boise. It crashed on take off in a snowstorm just after 2pm MST and took the lives of 28 souls.
I am curious as to what some others were doing that day.
Personally, I and a friend from Vancouver,BC were touring the Treasure Valley of SW Idaho and were listening to the news on the radio (AM) and just at the tail end of the newscast, they stated that 'We just got a report of a plane crash in Denver.' Upon arriving at my friends motel room, flipped on TV and saw news on Boise station about crash.
Anyway, other perspectives?

I would prefer to not recall the events of that day or any other day regarding an accident in aviaiton!

Any others feel the same?
  

Okay, accidents never occur.

At the time I was two years old, almost three, so I don't remember the crash specifically. At the time I was living in Minneapolis and doing God knows what.

It's funny though, becasue I can remember other things from as far back as the spring of 1987, but not this crash- though my parents remember it.

The first crash I remember was Pan Am 103, I was almost five years old.

Anyhow, may all those who perished on CO 1713 rest in peace.

TWA1985

This crash took a distant cousins husband (My grandfathers sister - her daughters husband.)
He had a real twisted sense of humor.
I think about him alot especially at our family get together on the 4th of July.

KD

What a strange and morbid way to reminisce !

Anyone know if there is going to be any special news coverage, either newspaper or on TV, regarding the accident?
If so, then please share it with us, and if anyone happens upon anything, let us know where to find that as well.

Thanks,

TWA1985

I was 14 and watching football with my parents at our house just outside of Denver. It was a time before instant news, but if I recall right they did interrupt the game for breaking news. My church youth group leader was a mechanic for Continental at the time and was called in to help with the recovery and clean-up. He had some interesting stories to share afterwards.

Mt thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who was affected by that crash and hopefully some valuable lessons were learned. I know that crash did change (or create) de-icing policies for a lot of airlines.

As I recalled the big debate after this accident was the concept of the hard wing "I think that was the term" and ice. Some in Washington after the media experts explained the cause within 24 hours of the accident wanted these aircraft (the other was the F-28) grounded during bad weather.

Quoting MtnWest1979 (Thread starter): I am curious as to what some others were doing that day.

Believe it or not, I was visiting my friend in Fairfield, CA (SMF area) who had launched my airliner/airlines enthusiast years some 7 years earlier when he, like me, was living in the MSP area. I have a vivid recollection of returning from visiting several sites of interest to our shared interest and learning on the evening television news of the crash of a CO DC-9-10 near DEN.

A different perspective would to recognize what was learned from this disaster...and that's basically that changes were mandated to the insane ways that cockpit crews were paired up, hiring practices, and crew roles themselves. IIRC, the co-pilot was newly hired, had previously flunked numerous exams, yet was allowed to fly a takeoff in the midst of a snowstorm.

Btw, somewhere I've got a Readers Digest issue that devoted a major portion of that issue to this crash.

Tom at MSY (on the CrackBerry)

We're the dc9-10s part of Continental's fleet or did they pick them up from Frontier or New York Air?

I was on duty at Continental Reservations in Houston. We were advised of the accident by a VIM (Very Important Message) alert. This was a very long and sad shift.

Had to check a file in my garage...and lo and behold, there's the Readers Digest (it's the February 1990 issue for those who want to look).

Anyways, the file has a copy of the NTSB report in it.....the tail number of the aicraft was N626TX...it came over from Texas International in 1982 (part of the CO/TI merger I imagine).

Tom at MSY

I remember the evening news cast but not what I was doing that day. I was 10 and living with my parents in Boulder. I guess I wasn't like other kids in that I used to watch the news, usually by myself. I remember thinking the plane crashed due to a snowy/icy runway, that it slipped somehow. Stapleton seemed to be connected to more than its fair share of accidents.

I was 3 at the time. That day happens to by my mothers birthday.

Some of you people are a tough crowd! You'd think the thread starter wanted photos of the scene or something to that degree with what's been said. Granted it's not the best thread, ever.

I was working in the Connect Planning office at Terminal C at IAH. My job was to plan for connecting passengers who misconnected with Continental in Houston. My contact in central operations emailed me the news about the crash and our supervisors very soon after informed us that we were not talk to any media under pain of dismissal. The Houston television stations all sent crews to the airport very soon after. I remember very well my co-worker looking up the flight number as soon as we heard, but all records of the flight were frozen in our computer system and not accessible. But that was only the beginning.

Immediately after, Denver Stapleton was closed for 24 hours. All flights in and out were canceled. We had planes in Houston with crews in Denver, We had crews in Houston with planes in Denver. We had crews going beyond the legal limit and could not fly. We had flights out of Houston waiting for planes from Denver. We had to figure out how to reroute passengers to places such as Casper WY not using Denver. (Continental at the time still had a huge hub in Denver.) Rumors flew widely around the airport ("Send all LAX passengers to gate 34! Special section running with an Airbus A300! Ooops, sorry. Had the plane,but couldn't find pilots." ) ("Delta has seats! Send everybody to Terminal B!" Delta in those days was running DC9-30's from IAH to ATL. They held about 90 pax. "60 passengers have just returned from Terminal B madder than hell! Delta has no seats at all!" Angry phone calls from Delta!)

For the next three days, the Houston airport was in utter chaos. I remember we had two flights per day from Houston to Pensacola and both flights were canceled three days running. On the third day, a passenger service agent called me and asked me if there was anyway to get a passenger to Pensacola. I couldn't stop laughing for 10 minutes. We had all ben working 16 hour days with no relief dealing with the mess. This was in a hub were Continental had 80% of the traffic. All the airport hotels were full, there were people sleeping in the lobbies and waiting areas. Hundreds were there for days. Mountains of lost baggage everywhere.

Nightmare, nightmare, nightmare!

Quoting MtnWest1979 (Thread starter): Anyway, other perspectives?

I attended the NTSB Hearings some months later. NTSB usually holds them at a airport-area hotel, but strangely enough, the Hearing for 1713 was held at a hotel in Golden. Getting a lead-off first base for the ski slopes, I guess...

The first day (of the 3 or 4), the place was packed, and media was everywhere. It was a real eye-opener to watch an entire morning of detailed technical testimony, and then watch the reporters condense all that into sound bites, before "tossing" back to those at the station. Lot's of stuff lost in the translation and condensation.

On day 2 or 3, I was chatting with a gentleman, about general airline stuff. At one point, he suddenly stood up, and walked towards the witness stand, and I quickly realized that he -was- one. A survivor, actually, a Doctor from Boise. Nice fellow; Helpenstall I think his name was. His testimony was riveting.

One of the things that, sadly, didn't seem to get learned in subsequent years was that "hard-wing" aircraft (no L/E devices) are incredibly sensitive to even seemingly small amounts of winter precip. There would be a pair of Fokker crashes (Air Ontario @Dryden, and USAir @ LGA), and the bizjet crash that killed the son of Dick Ebsersol and Susan St. James.

I was 11 at the time, and I distinctly remember (not sure why but some things you tend to remember more then other things ) having been playing in the back yard, by myself making an "airport" of sorts in the sand I remember I was out there for several hours having gotten the shovel out dug up some grass and put twigs and such for rocks etc for runways, I have no clue why I remember doing that but I can remember going inside at dusk, and the news was coming on showing the crash, we had flown through DEN a year earlier having flown on CO on the route VPS-MSY-DEN-SEA, back then it was a DC-10 on the DEN-SEA route, first time on DC-10, anyways the fact of having flown through DEN a year earlier was quite amazing for a 11 year old kid, especially with seeing the airplane flipped over etc. Another two days I remember very well where two tragic air crashes; August 2, 1985 and July 19, 1989.... Without the older folks giving away the stats on those days can those who were very young at the time remember what occurred on those days? The airlines (s) involved? On 7/19/89, I actually traveled
PNS-BTR, small lil hop to visit my Aunt for a few weeks and was amazed to see the news of the tragedy later in the day.

For TWAFirst:
The comments I am about to make are independent of the topic of this thread; Earlier you referenced the concept of souls, we are all free to believe what we wish about after life, however if you are one who does not believe in souls I would kindly suggest you reconsider your view, there is alot out there we dont know about including what takes place at the end of our life, I have seen way too many true story haunted stories on A&E to not believe, man some of those programs really spook the dickens outta me, anyways, I do believe souls exist, haunted houses certainly tend to prove that...and the statement that was made earlier does make sense "..and took the lives of 28 souls.." Souls are separate from lives, once your life is gone what is left is your soul, at least that is what I believe.

JMH-Pensacola, Florida!!

Quoting IAHFLYR (Reply 1): would prefer to not recall the events of that day or any other day regarding an accident in aviaiton! Any others feel the same?

I was at the crash seen helping the firemen removed first the survivors then the deceassed. Hard day...but at least 60 or so of the pax survived out of the 84 on board.   While it doesn't affect me to talk about the day, I was moved and changed that day and will remember the faces of the surviving pax probably for the rest of my life. But I respect those who would rather not talk about the events of that sad day.

Amazonphil

Well I was the ripe old age of 25 when this crash occured. Can you figure out my age now? lol I had worked for CO for 7 mos and was working in EWR. I do remember the crash welll, though. Hard to believe it has been 20 years now.

TWA1985, you're a young kid. lol.

Hello,

Take a look at these news reports on the accident from CBS in Denver....

http://cbs4denver.com/video/[email protected]&cid=156


TWA1985

Quoting JmhLUV2fly (Reply 23): Earlier you referenced the concept of souls, we are all free to believe what we wish about after life

I think some of you are misunderstanding the use of the word "souls". It is not a reference to religion or the afterlife, but a commonly used term referring to the number of people onboard. Crews refer to a number of souls onboard when giving the tower information on their pax count when something unusual is happening. The tower has asked me about the number of souls onboard when an inbound flight is having a problem.

I have listened to the CVR tapes and you can hear several compressor stalls which were a byproduct of the angle of attack due to the wing icing. Very erie to listen to that tape. Special care has to be taken when operating jet aircraft with hard leading edge in icing conditions. As mentioned the F-28 accidents at Dryden and La Guardia proved that point.

About two years ago I was driving through the subdivision on land that used to be occupied by Stapelton Airport. A huge UA reservation complex and IIRC a pilot training center and the control tower were the more prominent reminders that an airport had once been there. I tried to ascertain the location of that crash, but since the runways are no longer there, and I only have limited knowledge of what the runway layout was of that airport, it was difficult to pinpoint the exact impact location. I am correct in believing the CO DC-9 took off on a runway heading west? About halfway down on what used to be Runway 35L?

A German book of Jetliner Crashes since 1952 (by Jan-Arwed Richter & Christian Wolf) mentions that some of the causes of the crash were due to airlines resorting to extreme cost cutting measures (b/c of the derugulation act & increasing competition) and partly a direct result of the merger mania that the airline industry was going through. The boom in US air travel during those years also lead many airlines to employ, more often than not, inexperienced and cheaper pilots, or promoting them quickly to new types of aircraft.

(Translating liberally from german text....)
The pilot had joined CO in 1969 (coming directly from the the US Navy), and fairly quickly was promoted to co-pilot for the CO 727. In the early 80s it appears that CO downsized its pilot base for the 727, and he was promptly demoted to Flight Engineer. In October of 1983 he took part in a strike, and continued to take part until July 1986, after which he re-joined the 727 crew as a Flight Engineer. Because CO found itself seriously understaffed he was first promoted to a DC-9 co-pilot, and seven months later to a DC-9 Pilot. The book goes on to mention that at the time of the incident he had flown 164 Hours as co-pilot and 33 hours as pilot on the DC-9 .

The career of the 26-year old co-pilot was even faster. After accumulating 3100 hours with a Texas commuter airline flying a twin prop (no airline mentioned, but could it have been TX Int'l?) he switched to CO in July 1987. CO trained him for 7 months to become a DC-9 co-pilot, during which he would have flown regular scheduled flights for a 3-day period (October '87) After being on stand by for some time he reported to work on November 15 '87. On that day he had only accumulated a total 36½ hours on the DC-9 and was only flying his second scheduled flight.

Also, the crew decided to push back and proceed to Continental's de-iceing facilities with neither the knowledge nor permission of ground control. The slow und unorganized rescue effort was also heavily criticized at the time.

I see some parrallels to the Florida Air 737 disaster at DCA in Jan. '82, but in this incident the merger with TX Int''l and internal organizational problems due to rapid growth seem to have been an indirect cause.

I look forward to the OP or another person posting more anniversary dates for airliner crashes. It will allow us to re-live the horror and devastation these incidents cause to those involved (directly or indirectly).

Which accident is next?

Quoting CO767FA (Reply 30): I look forward to the OP or another person posting more anniversary dates for airliner crashes. It will allow us to re-live the horror and devastation these incidents cause to those involved (directly or indirectly).

You are right. I have never seen any threads on here remembering any other accidents. Oh wait.....
Anyway, sorry if people were offended.

Quoting Quickmover (Reply 16): We're the dc9-10s part of Continental's fleet or did they pick them up from Frontier or New York Air?

They came from Texas International, as well as a limited handful were original CO birds (or were those sold off before Texas Air?)

Quoting CO767FA (Reply 30): I look forward to the OP or another person posting more anniversary dates for airliner crashes. It will allow us to re-live the horror and devastation these incidents cause to those involved (directly or indirectly).

I think you'd find it's just the opposite. Those connected to these disasters don't want their loved ones forgotten, or lessons not learned. They don't want this horror to happen to anyone else. And while some involved might not want to talk about what happened, talking about difficult things is theraputic. Our society is a forgetful one, and in my opinion it is important to keep people mindful about the past, not just cover it up.

Quoting BOAC911 (Reply 29): I am correct in believing the CO DC-9 took off on a runway heading west? About halfway down on what used to be Runway 35L?

No, not heading west but north...you kind of answered your question in stated the DC-9 takeoff on 35L which was correct.

Amazonphil

Quoting DenverDanny (Reply 28): Those connected to these disasters don't want their loved ones forgotten, or lessons not learned. They don't want this horror to happen to anyone else. And while some involved might not want to talk about what happened, talking about difficult things is theraputic. Our society is a forgetful one, and in my opinion it is important to keep people mindful about the past, not just cover it up.

Let's make sure we are clear on this...there is no cover up; but there are those who would like to target one particular accident when there have been hundreds, like these from the 70's:

• 04/02/1970 Corrientes, Argenitna BAe 748 Aerolineas Aergentinas Crashed at take-off 37
  
• 06/02/1970 Samarkand, USSR Ilyushin 18 Aeroflot Hit a Mountain 92
  
• 15/02/1970 Santo Domingo DC-9-32 Dominicana Engine Failure 101
  
• 21/02/1970 Wuerenling, Sw. Convair 990 Swissair Bomb 47 Report
  
• 21/04/1970 Manila, Philippines BAe 748 Philippine Airlines Explosion 36
  
• 02/05/1970 Virgin Islands DC9-33CF Antillian Airlines Ran out of Fuel 22
  
• 03/07/1970 Sierra Montensy de Havilland Comet 4 Dan-Air Services Hit a Mountin 112
  
• 05/07/1970 Toronto DC8-8-63 Air Canada Crashed at Take-off 109 Report
  
• 05/08/1970 Islamabad, Pakistan F27 Pakistan Int. Airlines At take-off 30
  
• 09/08/1970 Cuzco Lockheed Electra 188A LANSA Engine Failure 100 Report
  
• 12/08/1970 Taipei, Taiwan Ys11 China Airlines Struck a ridge 14
  
• 14/11/1970 Huntington West Virginia DC-9 Southern Airways Mountain Side Collision 75
  
• 28/12/1970 Virgin Islands 727-200 American Airlines On landing 2 Report
  
• 31/12/1970 Leningrad Ilyushin 18 Aeroflot Not Available 93
  
• 31/12/1970 East Pakistan F27 Pakistan Int. Airlines On landing 7
  
• 09/01/1971 Newark, NJ 707-323 American Airlines Collision with Cessna 150 2
  
• 23/05/1971 Rijeka, Yougslavia Tupolev 134A Aviogenex Crashed During Landing 78
  
• 06/06/1971 Duarte, California, USA DC-9-31 Hughes Airwest Mid Air Collision 50
  
• 07/06/1971 New Haven, USA Convair 580 Allegheny Airlines Crashed on approach 28
  
• 03/07/1971 Hokkaido, Japan NAMC YS-11A Toa (Japan) Hit a Mountain 68
  
• 25/07/1971 Irkutsk, USSR Tupolev 104B Aeroflot Crashed on landing 97
  
• 31/07/1971 Morika, Japan 727-200 All Nippon Airways Mid Air Collision 163
  
• 04/09/1971 Juneau 727-193 Alaska Airlines Hit a mountain 111 Report
  
• 02/10/1971 Aarsele Vanguard BEA Structural Failure 55
  
• 21/11/1971 Penghu Islands Caravelle China Airlines Mid-Air Bomb 25
  
• 24/12/1971 Puerto Inca Locheed Electra 188A LANSA Structural Failure 91 Report
  
• 07/01/1972 Sierra de Atalayasa Caravelle SE-210 Iberia Hit a mountain 104
  
• 26/01/1972 Hamsdorf, Czechoslovakia DC9-32 JAT Bomb 27
  
• 14/03/1972 Dubay Caravelle Sterling Airways Hit a Mountain 112 Report
  
• 19/03/1972 Mt. Shamsen, South Yemen DC9-32 Egyptair Hit a Mountain 30
  
• 13/04/1972 Rio de Janerio YS11 VASP Hit high ground 25
  
• 18/04/1972 Ethiopia VC-10-1154 East African Airways Mechanical failure 43 Report
  
• 05/05/1972 Mt. Lunga DC-8-43 Alitalia Ground collision 115
  
• 18/05/1972 Charkov Antonov 10 Aeroflot Not Available 108
  
• 30/05/1972 Forth Worth, Texas DC-9-14 Delta Airlines Crashed on landing 4 Report
  
• 12/06/1972 Ontario, Canada DC-10 American Airlines Loss of cargo door none Report
  
• 14/06/1972 New Delhi, India DC8-50 Japan Air Lines Crashed on landing 86 Report
  
• 15/06/1972 Pleiku, South Vietnam Convair 880 Cathay Pacific Mid-Air Bomb 81
  
• 18/06/1972 Khakov, USSR Antanov 10A Aeroflot Structural Failure 122
  
• 18/06/1972 Staines Hawker Siddeley Trident British European Airways Ground Collision 118 Report
  
• 14/08/1972 Berlin Iiyshin 62 Eastern Germany Airlines Onboard Fire 156
  
• 31/08/1972 Magnitogorsk Ilyushin 18 Aeroflot Onboard Fire 101
  
• 01/10/1972 Sochi Ilyushin 18B Aeroflot Crashed after take-off 109
  
• 13/10/1972 San Fernando, Chile Fairchild 227D TAMU Hit a Mountain 29
  
• 13/10/1972 Krasnaya, USSR Ilyushin 62 Aeroflot Crashed During Landing 174
  
• 21/10/1972 Athens YS11 Olympic Crashed into sea 37
  
• 27/10/1972 Massif, France Viscount Air Inter Instrument Failure 55
  
• 28/11/1972 Moscow, Soviet Union DC8-60 Japan Air Lines Stalled 61
  
• 03/12/1972 Tenerife Convair 990 Spantax Groung Collision 155
  
• 08/12/1972 Chicago 737-222 United Airlines Crashed on landing 61 Report
  
• 08/12/1972 Jalot, Pakistan F27 Pakistan Int. Airlines Ground collision 33
  
• 13/12/1972 Moscow Ilyushin 62 Aeroflot Not Available 174
  
• 20/12/1972 Chicargo Convair 880 Delta Airlines Collision with Below 0 Report
  
• 20/12/1972 Chicargo DC9-31 North Central Airlines Collision with above 9 Report
  
• 23/12/1972 Skaugum, Norway F28-1000 Braathens SAFE Hit high ground 40
  
• 29/12/1972 Miami, Florida Lochheed L-1011 Eastern Airlines Crashed on landing 101 Report
  
• 22/01/1973 Kano 707 Royal Jordanian Airlines Crashed on landing 176
  
• 21/02/1973 Sinai 727 Liban Airlines Shot Down 104
  
• 05/03/1973 Nantes, France DC9-32 Iberia Mid air collision 68
  
• 10/04/1973 Basle-Mulhouse Vickers Vanguard 952 Invicta International Airways Instrument Failure 108
  
• 18/05/1973 Siberia, USSR Tupolev 104A Aeroflot Bomb 81
  
• 31/05/1973 New Dehli, India 737-200 Indian Airlines Crashed during landing 48
  
• 03/06/1973 Goussainville, France Tupolev 144 Aeroflot Crashed during Air Show 6
  
• 21/06/1973 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico DC9-15 Aeromexico During landing 27
  
• 11/07/1973 Orly, France 707 Varig Fire 123 Report
  
• 22/07/1973 Papeete, Tahiti 737-321B Pan American World Airways Crashed after Take-off 78
  
• 31/07/1973 Boston DC9-31 Delta Airlines On landing 89 Report
  
• 13/08/1973 La Corunda, Spain Caravelle 10-R AVIACO Crashed during landing 85
  
• 27/08/1973 Bogota, Columbia Lockheed 188A Aerovias Not Available 43
  
• 28/08/1973 Los Angeles, California 707-331B Transworld Airlines Design Tolerances 1 Report
  
• 30/09/1973 Sverdlovsk Tupolev 104B Aeroflot Instrument Failure 108
  
• 03/10/1973 Domodedovo, USSR Tupolev 104B Aeroflot Electrical Failure 119
  
• 23/10/1973 Rio de Janerio YS11 VASP Rejected take-off 8
  
• 03/11/1973 Albuquerque, New Mexico National Airlines DC10-10 Engine Failure 1
  
• 03/11/1973 Boston, MA 707-321C Pan American World Airways Onboard Fire 3 Report
  
• 20/12/1973 New Delhi, India 707-330B Lufhansa Crashed on approach none
  
• 22/12/1973 Tetuan, Morocco Caravellevi-n Sobelair (Belgium) Hit a Mountain 106
  
• 01/04/1974 Turin, Italy Fokker 28 Aerolineeitavia Crashed during Take-off 38
  
• 26/01/1974 Izmir, Turkey F28-1000 THY During take-off 68
  
• 30/01/1974 Pago 707-321B Pan American World Airways Crashed during landing 97 Report
  
• 03/03/1974 Orly DC-10 Turkish Airlines Loss of cargo door 346 Report
  
• 03/04/1974 Francistown, Botswana DC-4 Werenla Air Services Crashed on take-off 77
  
• 13/03/1974 Bishop California Convair 340/440 Sierra Pacific Airlines Hit a Mountain 36
  
• 22/04/1974 Denpasar Bali 707-321-B Pan American World Airways Hit a Monntain 107
  
• 27/04/1974 Leningrad Ilyushin 18 Aeroflot Engine Failure, Fire 118
  
• 08/06/1974 Monte San Isidoro, Colombia Viscount 785D Aerolineas Not Available 44
  
• 07/09/1974 Telukbetung, Indonesia F27 Garuda Indonesian Airlines Crashed on landing 31
  
• 08/09/1974 Ionian Sea, Greece 707 TWA Bomb 88
  
• 11/09/1974 Charlotte, USA DC9-31 Eastern Airlines Crashed during Approach 72
  
• 15/09/1974 Phan Rang 727 Air Vietnam Hi Jacked 76
  
• 20/11/1974 Nairobi, Kenya 747 Lufthansa Crashed at Take-off 59 New
  
• 01/12/1974 Berryville, Virginia 727-231 Transworld Airlines While Landing in Bad Weather 92 Report
  
• 04/12/1974 Laxabana Hill, Holland DC-8-55F Martimair Not Available 191
  
• 22/12/1974 Maturin, Venezuela DC9-14 Aerovias Crashed after take-off 75
  
• 30/01/1975 Instanbul F28-1000 THY Crashed during landing 41
  
• 03/02/1975 Manila, Philippines BAe 748 Philippine Airlines Engine Failure 32
  
• 27/02/1975 Sao Paulo, Brazil Bandeirante VASP On take-off 15
  
• 24/06/1975 JFK Airport 727-225 Eastern Airlines Wind Sheer 113 Report
  
• 03/08/1975 Agadir 707-321C Royal Jordanian Airlines Hit a Mountain 188
  
• 07/08/1975 Denver, Colarado 727-224 Continental Airlines Crashed at Take-off 15 Seriously injured Report
  
• 20/08/1975 Damascus Ilysuhin 62 Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie Crashed during Approach 126
  
• 24/08/1975 Palenbang, Indonesia F28-1000 Garuda Indoneasian Airways Crashed on landing 25
  
• 30/10/1975 Prague, Czechoslovakia DC9-32 Inex Adria Aviopromet Crashed during Approach 75
  
• 12/11/1975 Raleigh, North Carolina 727 Eastern Airlines On ILS Landing 9 Seriously Injured Report
  
• 12/11/1975 JFK, New York DC-10-30 Overseas National Airways Struck by Birds at Take-off 2 Seriously Injured
  
• 16/12/1975 Anchorage, Alaska 747-246 Japan Airlines Skidded off Taxiway 2 Seriously Injured Report
  
• 01/01/1976 Northeastern Saudi Arabi 727 Middle East Airlines Bomb 81
  
• 22/01/1976 Chapeco, Brazil Banderante Transbrasil During take-off 7
  
• 06/03/1976 Yerevan Ilyushin 18D Aeroflot Electrical failure 127
  
• 05/04/1976 Ketchikan 727 Alaska Airlines Runway overrun 1
  
• 27/04/1976 St Thomas, Virgin Islands 727-95 American Airlines Crashed on landing 37 Report
  
• 09/09/1976 Off Adler, USSR Antonov 24 Aeroflot Collision with Below (64)
  
• 09/09/1976 Off Adler, USSR Yakovlev 40 Aeroflot Collision with Above (64)
  
• 10/09/1976 Zagreb, Yugoslavia(Croatia) Trident British Airlines Collision with Below 63 Report
  
• 10/09/1976 Zagreb, Yugoslavia(Croatia) DC-9 Yogoslav Collision with Above 113 Report
  
• 19/09/1976 Karatepe Mts, turkey 727-2F2 Turk Hava Yollari Hit a mountain 154
  
• 06/10/1976 Barbados DC8-40 Cubana Bomb on board 73
  
• 12/10/1976 Bombay Carvelle SE-210 Indian Airlines Engine failure 95
  
• 13/10/1976 Santa Cruz 707-131F Aereo Boliviano Hit a Building 91
  
• 16/11/1976 Denver, Colorado DC-9-14 Texas Int. Airlines Crashed on Take-off 0 Report
  
• 31/11/1976 Kozani, Greece YS11 Olympic Airways Crashed during approach 50
  
• 25/12/1976 Bangkok, Tyailand 707-366C Egyptair Crashed on landing 62
  
• 13/01/1977 Alma Ata Tupolev 104A Aeroflot Engine fire 96
  
• 15/02/1977 Mineralnye, USSR Ilyushin 18V Aeroflot Crashed on landing 77
  
• 27/03/1977 Tenerif 747 Pan Am Collision with Below 335 Report
  
• 27/03/1977 Tenerif 747 KLM Collision with Above 248 Report
  
• 04/04/1977 New Hope, Georgia DC-9-31 Southern Airways Engine Failure 9 Report
  
• 16/05/1977 Pan-AM Building New York Sikorsky S-61L New York Airways Landing Gear Failure 5 Report
  
• 27/05/1977 Havana, Cuba Ilyushin 62 Aeroflot Not Available 62
  
• 27/09/1977 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia DC8-60 Japan Air Lines Crashed on landing 34
  
• 03/11/1977 Belgrade, Yogoslovia 747 El Al Decompression 1
  
• 19/11/1977 Funchal 727-282 Air Portugal Crashed on landing 131
  
• 04/12/1977 Johore Strait 737-2H6 Malaysian Airlines System Explosion 100
  
• 13/12/1977 Evansville, IN DC-3 National Jet Services Crashed during take-off 29
  
• 01/01/1978 Bandra, India 747-237B Air India Instrument Failure 213
  
• 11/02/1978 Cranbrook, Canada 737-275 Pacific Western Airlines Reverse Thrusters Failed 42
  
• 01/03/1978 Los Angeles DC10 Continental Airlines Tyre burst 2
  
• 01/03/1978 Kano, Nigeria F28-1000 Nigeria Airways Mid air collision 18
  
• 02/03/1978 Bombay India 747-200 Air India Instrument failure 213
  
• 20/04/1978 Kem, Soviet Union 707-300 Korean Air Lines Forced landing 2
  
• 08/05/1978 Pensacola, FL 727-235 National Airlines Crashed on landing 3 Report
  
• 26/06/1978 Toronto, Canada DC9-32 Air Canada Tyre Burst 2
  
• 18/08/1978 Manila, Philippines BAC 111 Philippine Airlines Bomb 1
  
• 03/09/1978 Zimbabwe Viscount Air Rhodesia Shot Down 38
  
• 25/09/1978 San Diego, California 727 Pacific Southwest Airlines Collision with Cessnia 172 144 Report
  
• 15/11/1978 Colombo, Sri Lanka DC-8 Icelandic Airways Crashed on landing 183
  
• 23/12/1978 Palermo DC-9-32 Alitalia Crashed into sea 115
  
• 28/12/1978 Portland Oregon DC-8-61 United airlines No Fuel During Approach 18 Report
  
• 12/02/1979 Kariba Corge, Rhodesia VC-7 Air Rhodesia Shot Down 59
  
• 12/02/1979 Clarksburg, USA Mohawk 299 Allegheny Airlines During take-off 2
  
• 14/03/1979 Doha Airport, Qatar 727-2D3 Royan Jordanian Airlines On Landing 44
  
• 17/03/1979 Moscow-Vnukovo Tupolev Aeroflot Not Available 90
  
• 25/05/1979 Chicago - O'Hare DC-10-10 American Airlines Engine fell off 273 Report
  
• 30/05/1979 Rockland, Maine DeHavilland Downeast Airlines On approach 17
  
• 11/07/1979 Medan Airfield, Indonesia F28-1000 Garuda Indonesian Airways Hit a mountain 61
  
• 11/08/1979 Donetsk Tupolev 134A Aeroflot Collision with Below (178)
  
• 11/08/1979 Donetsk Tupolev 134A Aeroflot Collision with Above (178)
  
• 14/09/1979 Sarroch, Italy DC9-32 Aerotransporti Hit a Mountain 31
  
• 07/10/1979 Athens, Greece DC8-60 Swissair On landing 14
  
• 31/10/1979 Mexico City DC10-10 Western Airlines Struck Vechicle 72
  
• 26/11/1979 Jeddah 707-340C Pakistan Int. Airlines On board fire 156
  
• 28/11/1979 Mount Erebus, Antarctica DC-10 Air New Zealand Hit a Mountain 257
  
• 23/12/1979 Ankara, Turkey F28-1000 THY Structural failure 39
  

Let the healing begin with rememberence threads for those families who lost souls on the above accidents.

Quoting CO767FA (Reply 30): Let the healing begin with rememberence threads for those families who lost souls on the above accidents.

You know, maybe it's just me, but I'm sensing a certain air of facetiousness here...   

Can't we all just get along?   

Quoting CO767FA (Reply 25): I look forward to the OP or another person posting more anniversary dates for airliner crashes. It will allow us to re-live the horror and devastation these incidents cause to those involved (directly or indirectly). Which accident is next?

Something to keep in mind here... no one (not even the OP) forced you to click on this thread.

I've read each post in this thread many times. I have no personal connections to this accident other than Continental Airliines being my hometown airline, but I have to say, the aviation industry as a whole took huge steps forward in many areas from the review of this accident..........are we better off today from those who lost their lives in this horrible event,
YES.

Have a great blue sky day! : 

I've read each post in this thread many times. I have no personal connections to this accident other than Continental Airliines being my hometown airline, but I have to say, the aviation industry as a whole took huge steps forward in many areas from the review of this accident..........are we better off today from those who lost their lives in this horrible event,

YES.

Have a great blue sky day! : 

Quoting IAHFLYR (Reply 33): I have no personal connections to this accident other than Continental Airliines being my hometown airline, but I have to say, the aviation industry as a whole took huge steps forward in many areas from the review of this accident..........

Name one accident that didn't prove to do the same? For instance, Air Canada's disaster in March 1983 that was engulfed in flames resulted in aisle path lighting. My point is this post singles out one of several hundred air tragedies and serves no real purpose. Why remember this air disaster? Others were clearly more horrific and killed more people, yet we don't see people making anniversary posts about them.

Quoting Cactus739 (Reply 32): Something to keep in mind here... no one (not even the OP) forced you to click on this thread.

Right and no one forced you to post such an asinine comment.

Quoting DenverDanny (Reply 28): I think you'd find it's just the opposite. Those connected to these disasters don't want their loved ones forgotten, or lessons not learned. They don't want this horror to happen to anyone else. And while some involved might not want to talk about what happened, talking about difficult things is theraputic. Our society is a forgetful one, and in my opinion it is important to keep people mindful about the past, not just cover it up.

I completely agree. I think it is important to remember the victims of accidents, and also the valuable lessons we learned from the tragedies. This was an accident that received a great deal of coverage at the time, and 20 years is a significant anniversary. I'm sure it seems like yesterday to many of us. It is not unusual to bring up accident anniversaries in this forum, and I'm not sure why the OP is catching so much flak for it. Considering the hundreds and hundreds of responses today's accidents receive in the multi-part airliners.net threads, I see no harm in a little respectful rememberance.

Quoting CO767FA (Reply 30): but there are those who would like to target one particular accident when there have been hundreds, like these from the 70's:

Since we can't mention every single accident should we not mention any of them? There might be someone in Taiwan or the USSR who would like to bring up an anniversary of one of the other accidents you mentioned since it might be meaningful to them. I would not criticize them for it. I might not click on the thread, but I would not criticize them.

Quoting Mattnrsa (Reply 36): I think it is important to remember the victims of accidents

It's strange. We remember maritme disasters by throwing wreaths to the ship's grave, but when it happens on the ground or in the air.....people have mixed feelings.

I have a connection...

I live outside of DEN today, and did then...

My father was a pilot for CO, and was previously at Texas International... He just passed actually...

Dad was a witness to the accident.

He was taxiing out that day, flying a trip to LAS. He saw a flash through the snowfall. I do not remember what else exactly he saw. Most of the witnesses to the accident interviewed were on his flight. It was so long ago I do not remember anything else.

Sad but interesting look back. What was the status of the two pilots as far as being or not being among the survivors, sorry it was 20 years ago and I don't recall ? On a side note I have spent a little time over the last few weeks reading thru a recently found OAG from Jan 1988, two months after this accident. In case anyone was interested in what the service was between DEN and BOI back then CO had 3 nonstop flights, a 73S and 2 DC9, meal service was B, L, and D/S. UA had 3 nonstops also, a 727 and 2 73S, meal service was S, L, and D, I added the meal service as a reminder of what it was like back then on a approx 2 hour flight gate to gate. It is not ment to take away from the tragedy of this accident. I would like to add my RIP to the victims and I hope the living survivors have found peace on this 20 year anniversary.

Respectfully,

LGA777

Quoting LGA777 (Reply 39): What was the status of the two pilots as far as being or not being among the survivors, sorry it was 20 years ago and I don't recall ?

Neither one survived...

Tom at MSY