Federal investigators said late Monday that an unusual rattling sound can be heard on the cockpit recorder of a Continental Airlines flight shortly before it veered off a runway after an aborted takeoff Saturday, injuring more than three dozen people.
National Transportation Safety Board officials said the jet’s pilots aborted takeoff at high speed in a bid to keep from hurtling off the side of a runway at Denver International Airport last Saturday. But the plane became uncontrollable anyway and within seconds slammed into a snowy ravine.
Lead NTSB investigator Bill English said the plane’s data recorder revealed that the thrust-reversers on both of the plane’s engines were activated, according to the Associated Press. The devices are normally deployed to stop an aircraft as it moves down a runway. One of the pilots also can be heard on the recorder calling for an aborted takeoff.
Robert Sumwalt, the NTSB member on site who is serving as spokesman for the federal and industry crash teams, told a press briefing late Monday that an interview with the plane’s copilot revealed that the jet began drifting off the center of the strip as it reached about 103 m.p.h. Board officials estimate the aircraft reached a maximum speed of more than 135 m.p.h. before veering off the runway, sliding across a field and ending in the ravine with its left engine and main landing gear sheared off.
Investigators haven’t yet interviewed the plane’s captain, who was at the controls and remains hospitalized with serious back injuries and bone fractures. NTSB officials are still trying to determine what caused the unusual sound, and whether any engine or brake malfunctions may have contributed to the accident.
Mr. Sumwalt said the bumping and rattling sound was first heard 41 seconds after the plane started down the runway, according to the Associated Press. Four seconds later, one of the crew members called for the takeoff to be aborted. Mr. Sumwalt said investigators have found no problems with the plane’s engines, tires or brakes, but aren’t ruling anything out. Investigators found that the plane’s flight control surfaces — including flaps, slats and speed brakes — were in proper position. And there was no indication of locked brakes.
WSJ.com
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