Accidents and Incidents
- On March 3, 1991, United Airlines Flight 585, a Boeing 737-291 flying from Peoria, Illinois, to Colorado Springs via Moline, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado, crashed on final approach to Colorado Springs Runway 35 after a rudder malfunction caused the aircraft to roll over and dive, killing all 25 on board. The incident was officially closed as undetermined but after investigating a nearly identical crash involving USAir Flight 427 in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, as well as another nearly identical incident involving Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 in 1996 in Richmond, Virginia, the cause of the accident was finally determined. The reason was the effect of thermal shock on the rudder which blocked it entirely. The pilot tried to change the direction of the rudder but another effect of thermal shock was the reverse action of the pedals. The pilot flying pushed on the pedals but this contributed to the out-of-control diving of the aircraft since he was not aware of the reverse action of the pedals.
- On January 8, 2010, a 47-year-old man from Virginia by the name of Muhammad Abu Tahir became intoxicated on AirTran Airways flight 39 bound for San Francisco after it left Atlanta, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Colorado Springs. The plane landed with no issues and Tahir was arrested and taken to an El Paso County jail and later charged. The plane took off again from Colorado Springs for San Francisco several hours later.
- On December 30, 2010, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-300 operating as Flight 1921 from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with 225 passengers and crew had to make an emergency landing at the airport due to engine problems. Two people were injured during evacuation.
Read more about this topic: Colorado Springs Airport
Famous quotes containing the words accidents and/or incidents:
“Depression moods lead, almost invariably, to accidents. But, when they occur, our mood changes again, since the accident shows we can draw the world in our wake, and that we still retain some degree of power even when our spirits are low. A series of accidents creates a positively light-hearted state, out of consideration for this strange power.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“An element of exaggeration clings to the popular judgment: great vices are made greater, great virtues greater also; interesting incidents are made more interesting, softer legends more soft.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)