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Dec 20, 2008 11:08 pm US/Central
Dozens Injured After 737 Veers Off Denver Runway
Airport Won't Comment On Cause Of Crash; Passengers Sustain Non-Life Threatening Injuries
DENVER (CBS) ―
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A Boeing 737 veered off the end of a runway at Denver International Airport Saturday night and was smoking, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. (File)
STR/AFP/Getty Images
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About 20 ambulances and six fire trucks were on the scene transporting injured passengers to area hospitals.
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A Continental Airlines jet taking off from Denver went off the runway and caught fire Saturday night, forcing passengers to evacuate on emergency slides and injuring nearly 40 people, officials said.
No deaths were reported, but 38 people were taken to hospitals, said Kim Day, Denver International Airport manager of aviation. No one was reported in critical condition. Many passengers suffered cuts, bruises and broken bones, according to Denver Assistant Fire Chief Steve Garrod.
The cause of the accident was not immediately known.The right side of the plane caught fire after it landed in a ravine between two runways on the west side of the airfield, CBS station KCNC reported.
The weather in Denver was cold but not snowy when Continental Flight 1404 took off from Denver International Airport for Houston around 6:20 p.m.
A fire broke out, but ground crews put out the flames quickly, said Denver International Airport spokesman Jeff Green. The 112 people on board made it out on through slides on the Boeing 737. Denver firefighters described a "surreal" scene upon arrival and worked to put out the flames quickly.
"It was described as a heck of a fire fight from the commanding officer on scene but he's very proud of how the crews reacted and the outcome of this incident," said Denver Fire Department Division Chief Patrick Haynes.
The wheels of the plane were sheared off and there was a significant amount of debris at the crash site.
"The entire right side of the plane was on fire. There was significant extension of the fire into the cabin portion. There's significant fire damage inside the cabin with the luggage compartments described as being melted and dropping down onto the seats," Haynes said.
Passenger Alex Zamora told KCNC-TV that everything seemed normal with the departure until right as the plane started speeding up on the runway.
"We took flight for a few moments, hit the ground, bumped the ground and the engine on the right side of the plane seemed to just blow up," he said. "The plane came to a pretty abrupt halt and people got out pretty quickly. We all piled out through the emergency doors and ran up a nearby hill and we happened to be right next to what was one of the dispatch stations for the emergency vehicles."
Zamora said some of the injured people had gruesome looking head injuries and others were complaining about back and neck injuries.
National Transportation Safety Board officials were on the scene Saturday night and investigating the crash.
The plane was carrying 107 passengers and five crew members, said Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark.
Denver Health spokeswoman Kalena Wilkinson said seven people were taken to her hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Five people were in fair condition at the University of Colorado hospital, a spokeswoman said.
The accident closed the airport's west airfield and caused delays of 40 minutes, Day said.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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