Description

On 20 December 2008 a Boeing 737-500 being operated by Continental Airlines on a scheduled passenger flight from Denver to Houston departed the left side of runway 34R during a normal visibility night take-off roll in gusty crosswind conditions and then travelled across moderately rough but essentially level terrain before coming to stop still upright but with the fuselage broken into two pieces. A post crash fire followed. Six of the 115 occupants were seriously injured and a further 41 sustained minor injuries.

Investigation

An Investigation was carried out by the National Transportation Safety Board (USA) (NTSB). It was established that the aircraft had left the runway at a speed of approximately 110 knots and that the total distance then travelled before stopping had been approximately 730 m, crossing both a taxiway and an airport service road and including a short airborne excursion following impact with uneven terrain. The cabin evacuation was found to have been promptly accomplished by the cabin crew with assistance from positioning operator flight crew. There were no announcements from the flight deck in connection with the evacuation. A fire developed on the right side of the aircraft but all occupants had been successfully evacuated before it breached the cabin.