Investigators enter passenger jet wreckage at Denver airport

6:42 p.m.

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
Associated Press Writer

DENVER (AP) - Investigators climbed inside the cracked, charred wreckage of a Continental Airlines jet Monday, searching for clues about why the plane veered off a runway and slid nearly half a mile into a ravine.
The twin-engine Boeing 737-500 still sat in the snow-covered ravine where it came to rest after its aborted takeoff Saturday at Denver International Airport. Behind it, a 2,500-foot-long scar through the grass and snow marked the plane's path.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators conducted preliminary reviews of the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder on Sunday, agency spokesman Peter Knudson said.
No information has been released, but Knudson said "we do have good data" from the recorders. The NTSB said nothing has been ruled out as a potential cause.
Investigators planned to interview the captain and the first officer on Monday. Both had clean safety records with the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. He wouldn't release their names.
FAA records show the plane, built in 1994, had to make an emergency landing in Denver in 1995 when one of its two engines failed, but the aircraft touched down safely and no injuries were reported. The engine was replaced.
The latest accident forced the 115 passengers and crew aboard Flight 1404 to flee through emergency exits as the plane burned. The jet had shed its left engine and both main landing gears. The entire right side of the jet was burned, and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats.
Of the 38 people injured, at least five remained in Denver hospitals Monday, one in serious condition, one in fair condition and three in good condition. Knudson said one member of the cockpit crew was injured, but it wasn't immediately clear whether it was the captain or first officer, and Knudson didn't know how seriously.
The weather was clear and cold when the plane attempted to take off for Houston about 6:20 p.m. Saturday. Winds at the airport were 31 mph, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
"No other aircraft opted against taking off due to wind" before Flight 1404 tried to lift off, Gregor said.
The plane veered off course about 2,000 feet from the end of the runway and did not appear to have gotten airborne, city aviation manager Kim Day said.
The NTSB took reporters and photographers to the scene Monday afternoon. The charred right side of the plane was punctured by a jagged hole, and debris was strewn across the grassy slope.
Skid marks in the snow and scrapes in the ground showed that after veering off the runway, the plane crossed a flat grassy strip and a taxiway before speeding over an embankment, where the tracks disappear for a short distance - indicating the plane may have gone airborne briefly.
The tracks reappear in a snowy bowl and continue up a small hill, across a paved access road and back down a small hill into the ravine, where the plane finally stopped.
Bill Davis, an assistant Denver fire chief assigned to the airport, said the plane came to a rest about 200 yards from one of the airport's four fire stations. Passengers walked out of the ravine in 24-degree cold and crowded inside the station, he said.
A crack encircled much of the fuselage near the trailing edge of the wings, Davis said.
"It didn't really sound like an explosion. It was more like a big thud," said Maria Trejos, 30, who was sitting on the right side of the plane with her husband, who had their 1-year-old son on his lap.
She told The Associated Press on Monday that she thought the plane was about to take off when it veered off the left side of the runway. She felt a bump and saw a fireball through the window, and it felt briefly as if they were airborne, but she said that may have been when the plane was dropping into the ravine.
Trejos then smelled fuel and thought, "I hope the plane doesn't explode."
At first, the cabin was eerily quiet, with no one screaming, she said, but then it quickly got hot from the fire and people began to panic when they saw smoke and flames.
"I was thinking, 'I don't want to burn. I don't want my baby or my husband to burn,"' said Trejos, who is also four months pregnant.
They scrambled onto a wing and slid to the ground. She said that their son has cuts on his legs and that she her husband are bruised and sore, but that all three are otherwise fine.
They were headed to Houston to visit her husband's family but instead went home to Pueblo West, about 100 miles south of Denver, happy to be alive.
"It's going to be the best Christmas ever," she said.
Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB member, said Sunday that the damaged plane would remain for several days in the ravine. That runway will remain closed during the investigation, he said.
The Denver airport was back to normal on Monday, almost fully operational with five of its six runways open, spokesman Jeff Green said.
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Associated Press writers Judith Kohler, Ivan Moreno and Dan Elliott contributed to this report.

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5:15 p.m.

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
Associated Press Writer

DENVER (AP) - Investigators climbed inside the cracked, charred wreckage of a Continental Airlines jet Monday, searching for clues about why the plane veered off a runway and slid nearly half a mile into a ravine.
The twin-engine Boeing 737-500 still sat in the snow-covered ravine where it came to rest after its aborted takeoff Saturday at Denver International Airport. Behind it, a 2,500-foot-long scar through the grass and snow marked the plane's path.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators conducted preliminary reviews of the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder on Sunday, agency spokesman Peter Knudson said.
No information has been released, but Knudson said "we do have good data" from the recorders. The NTSB said nothing has been ruled out as a potential cause.
Investigators planned to interview the captain and the first officer on Monday. Both had clean safety records with the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. He wouldn't release their names.
FAA records show the plane, built in 1994, had to make an emergency landing in Denver in 1995 when one of its two engines failed, but the aircraft touched down safely and no injuries were reported. The engine was replaced.
The latest accident forced the 115 passengers and crew aboard Flight 1404 to flee through emergency exits as the plane burned. The jet had shed its left engine and both main landing gears. The entire right side of the jet was burned, and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats.
Of the 38 people injured, at least five remained in Denver hospitals Monday, one in serious condition, one in fair condition and three in good condition. Knudson said one member of the cockpit crew was injured, but it wasn't immediately clear whether it was the captain or first officer, and Knudson didn't know how seriously.
The weather was clear and cold when the plane attempted to take off for Houston about 6:20 p.m. Saturday. Winds at the airport were 31 mph, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
"No other aircraft opted against taking off due to wind" before Flight 1404 tried to lift off, Gregor said.
The plane veered off course about 2,000 feet from the end of the runway and did not appear to have gotten airborne, city aviation manager Kim Day said.
The NTSB took reporters and photographers to the scene Monday afternoon. The charred right side of the plane was punctured by a jagged hole, and debris was strewn across the grassy slope.
Skid marks in the snow and scrapes in the ground showed that after veering off the runway, the plane crossed a flat grassy strip and a taxiway before speeding down an embankment and into a snowy bowl, where it appears the landing gear collapsed and the belly of the plane hit the ground.
It then slid up a small hill, across a paved access road and back down a small hill into the ravine, where it finally stopped.
Bill Davis, an assistant Denver fire chief assigned to the airport, said the plane came to a rest about 200 yards from one of the airport's four fire stations. Passengers walked out of the ravine in 24-degree cold and crowded inside the station, he said.
A crack encircled much of the fuselage near the trailing edge of the wings, Davis said.
"It didn't really sound like an explosion. It was more like a big thud," said Maria Trejos, 30, who was sitting on the right side of the plane with her husband, who had their 1-year-old son on his lap.
She told The Associated Press on Monday that she thought the plane was about to take off when it veered off the left side of the runway. She felt a bump and saw a fireball through the window, and it felt briefly as if they were airborne, but she said that may have been when the plane was dropping into the ravine.
Trejos then smelled fuel and thought, "I hope the plane doesn't explode."
At first, the cabin was eerily quiet, with no one screaming, she said, but then it quickly got hot from the fire and people began to panic when they saw smoke and flames.
"I was thinking, 'I don't want to burn. I don't want my baby or my husband to burn,"' said Trejos, who is also four months pregnant.
They scrambled onto a wing and slid to the ground. She said that their son has cuts on his legs and that she her husband are bruised and sore, but that all three are otherwise fine.
They were headed to Houston to visit her husband's family but instead went home to Pueblo West, about 100 miles south of Denver, happy to be alive.
"It's going to be the best Christmas ever," she said.
Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB member, said Sunday that the damaged plane would remain for several days in the ravine. That runway will remain closed during the investigation, he said.
The Denver airport was back to normal on Monday, almost fully operational with five of its six runways open, spokesman Jeff Green said.
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Associated Press writers Judith Kohler, Ivan Moreno and Dan Elliott contributed to this report.

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2:16 p.m.

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
Associated Press Writer

DENVER (AP) - Investigators took photos and measurements at the charred wreckage of a Continental Airlines jet Monday, searching for clues about why the plane veered off a runway and skidded into a shallow ravine.
The twin-engine Boeing 737-500 still sat in a shallow, snow-covered ravine where it came to rest after its aborted takeoff Saturday at Denver International Airport.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators made preliminary reviews of the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder on Sunday, agency spokesman Peter Knudson said.
No information has been released, but Knudson said "we do have good data" from the recorders.
Investigators planned to interview the captain and the first officer later Monday. Both had clean safety records with the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. He wouldn't release their names.
FAA records show the plane, built in 1994, had to make an emergency landing in Denver in 1995 when one of its two engines failed, but the aircraft touched down safely and no injuries were reported. The engine was replaced.
The latest accident forced the 115 passengers and crew aboard Flight 1404 to flee through emergency exits as the plane burned. The jet had shed its left engine and both main landing gears. The entire right side of the jet was burned, and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats.
Of the 38 people injured, at least five remained in Denver hospitals Monday, one in serious condition, one in fair condition and three in good condition. Knudson said one member of the cockpit crew was injured, but it wasn't immediately clear if it was the captain or first officer, and Knudson didn't know how seriously.
Bill Davis, an assistant Denver fire chief assigned to the airport, said it was a miracle that no one was killed.
The weather was clear but cold when the plane attempted to take off for Houston about 6:20 p.m. Saturday. Winds at the airport were 31 mph, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
"No other aircraft opted against taking off due to wind" before Flight 1404 tried to lift off, Gregor said.
The plane veered off course about 2,000 feet from the end of the runway and did not appear to have gone airborne, city aviation manager Kim Day said.
Davis said the plane came to a rest about 200 yards from one of the airport's four fire stations. Passengers walked out of the ravine in 24-degree cold and crowded inside the station, he said.
A crack encircled much of the fuselage near the trailing edge of the wings, Davis said.
"It didn't really sound like an explosion. It was more like a big thud," said Maria Trejos, 30, who was sitting on the right side of the plane with her husband, who had their 1-year-old son on his lap.
She told The Associated Press on Monday she thought the plane was about to take off when it veered off the left side of the runway. She felt a bump and saw a fireball through the window, and it felt briefly like they were airborne, but she said that may have been when the plane was dropping into the ravine.
Trejos then smelled fuel and thought, "I hope the plane doesn't explode."
At first, the cabin was eerily quiet, with no one screaming, she said, but then it quickly got hot from the fire and people began to panic when they saw smoke and flames.
"I was thinking, 'I don't want to burn. I don't want my baby or my husband to burn,"' said Trejos, who is also four months pregnant.
They scrambled onto a wing and slid to the ground. She said their son has cuts on his legs and she her husband are bruised and sore, but all three are otherwise fine.
They were headed to Houston to visit her husband's family but instead went home to Pueblo West, about 100 miles south of Denver, happy to be alive.
"It's going to be the best Christmas ever," she said.
Many passengers from the flight arrived in Houston, its original destination, on Sunday afternoon, some clearly injured, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The gate where relatives waited at Bush Intercontinental Airport was blocked off from the rest of the terminal. One woman limped off the flight with red-rimmed eyes; another was in a wheelchair, wearing a neck brace, the newspaper reported. A young boy was taken by stretcher straight to an elevator.
Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB member, said the damaged plane would remain for several days in the 40-foot-deep ravine where it landed. That runway will remain closed during the investigation, he said.
Jim Proulx, a Boeing spokesman, said the company was supporting the NTSB investigation.
"We will also do whatever we can to learn the cause of this accident so that we can prevent a recurrence at Continental or at any other airline," said Larry Kellner, Continental's chairman and chief executive officer.
The airport was back to normal on Monday, almost fully operational with five of its six runways open, spokesman Jeff Green said.
---
Associated Press Writers Judith Kohler, Ivan Moreno and Dan Elliott in Denver contributed to this report.

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1:15 p.m.

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
Associated Press Writer

DENVER (AP) - Investigators took photos and measurements at the charred wreckage of a Continental Airlines jet Monday, searching for clues about why the plane veered off a runway and skidded into a shallow ravine.
The twin-engine Boeing 737-500 still sat in a shallow, snow-covered ravine where it came to rest after its aborted takeoff Saturday at Denver International Airport.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators made preliminary reviews of the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder on Sunday, agency spokesman Peter Knudson said.
No information has been released, but Knudson said "we do have good data" from the recorders.
Investigators planned to interview the captain and the first officer later Monday. Both had clean safety records with the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. He wouldn't release their names.
FAA records show the plane, built in 1994, had to make an emergency landing in Denver in 1995 when one of its two engines failed, but the aircraft touched down safely and no injuries were reported. The engine was replaced.
The latest accident forced the 115 passengers and crew aboard Flight 1404 to flee through emergency exits as the plane burned. The jet had shed its left engine and both main landing gears. The entire right side of the jet was burned, and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats.
The plane veered off course about 2,000 feet from the end of the runway and did not appear to have gone airborne, city aviation manager Kim Day said.
Bill Davis, an assistant Denver fire chief assigned to the airport, said it was a miracle "that everybody survived the impact and the fire."
Thirty-eight people suffered injuries, including broken bones. Officials weren't sure whether injuries were caused by the impact or the evacuation.
The weather was clear but cold when the plane attempted to take off for Houston about 6:20 p.m. Saturday. Winds at the airport were 31 mph, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The runways are elevated so rain and snow will drain away.
"No other aircraft opted against taking off due to wind" before Flight 1404 tried to lift off, Gregor said.
Davis, one of the firefighters who rushed to the scene, said the plane came to a rest about 200 yards from one of the airport's four fire stations. Passengers walked out of the ravine in 24-degree cold and crowded inside the station, he said.
A crack encircled much of the fuselage near the trailing edge of the wings, Davis said. There were 110 passengers and five crew members aboard, officials said.
"It didn't really sound like an explosion. It was more like a big thud," said Maria Trejos, 30, who was sitting on the right side of the plane with her husband, who had their 1-year-old son on his lap.
She told The Associated Press Monday she felt a bump and saw flames, and it felt briefly like they were airborne, but she said that may have been when the plane was dropping into the ravine.
Trejos then smelled fuel and thought, "I hope the plane doesn't explode."
At first, the cabin was eerily quiet, with no one screaming, she said, but then it quickly got hot from the fire and people began to panic when they saw smoke and flames.
"I was thinking, 'I don't want to burn. I don't want my baby or my husband to burn,"' said Trejos, who is also four months pregnant.
They scrambled onto a wing and slid to the ground. She said their son has cuts on his legs and she her husband are bruised and sore, but all three are otherwise fine.
They were headed to Houston to visit her husband's family but instead went home to Pueblo West, about 100 miles south of Denver, happy to be alive.
"It's going to be the best Christmas ever," she said.
Passenger Kristina Beagle, 22, of Houston, told CBS' "Early Show" that she thought the plane was close to takeoff speed and felt like it was in the air before it slammed along the ground.
"It was like we were in a movie," she said. "People were screaming and once I heard the people scream, I realized, oh, my gosh, we're crashing."
But the evacuation was orderly, even as the right side of the plane burned. "I just felt a glow on my right side. That was the only light I had in the entire cabin and I felt the warmth," Beagle said. "For some reason I just didn't believe it was happening."
Many passengers from the flight arrived in Houston, its original destination, on Sunday afternoon, some clearly injured, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The gate where relatives waited at Bush Intercontinental Airport was blocked off from the rest of the terminal. One woman limped off the flight with red-rimmed eyes; another was in a wheelchair, wearing a neck brace, the newspaper reported. A young boy was taken by stretcher straight to an elevator.
Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB member, said the damaged plane would remain for several days in the 40-foot-deep ravine where it landed. That runway will remain closed during the investigation, he said.
Besides the 1995 engine failure, the FAA records show four other trouble reports. Inspections in 2005 found corrosion on the airplane frame and a cracked rivet, both of which were repaired.
In 1996, a grease buildup caused a galley oven to smoke, and in April of this year, a detector gave a false indicator of smoke in a cargo hold. Both problems were repaired, the records show.
Jim Proulx, a Boeing spokesman, said the company was supporting the NTSB investigation.
"We will also do whatever we can to learn the cause of this accident so that we can prevent a recurrence at Continental or at any other airline," said Larry Kellner, Continental's chairman and chief executive officer.
---
Associated Press Writers Judith Kohler and Dan Elliott in Denver contributed to this report.

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11:37 a.m.

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
Associated Press Writer

DENVER (AP) - Investigators took photos and measurements at the charred wreckage of a Continental Airlines jet Monday, searching for clues about why the plane veered off a runway and skidded into a shallow ravine.
The twin-engine Boeing 737-500 still sat in a shallow, snow-covered ravine where it came to rest after its aborted takeoff Saturday at Denver International Airport.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators made preliminary reviews of the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder on Sunday, agency spokesman Peter Knudson said.
No information has been released, but Knudson said "we do have good data" from the recorders.
Investigators planned to interview the captain and the first officer later Monday. Both had clean safety records with the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. He wouldn't release their names.
FAA records show the plane, built in 1994, had to make an emergency landing in Denver in 1995 when one of its two engines failed, but the aircraft touched down safely and no injuries were reported. The engine was replaced.
The latest accident forced the 115 passengers and crew aboard Flight 1404 to flee through emergency exits as the plane burned. The jet had shed its left engine and both main landing gears. The entire right side of the jet was burned, and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats.
The plane veered off course about 2,000 feet from the end of the runway and did not appear to have gone airborne, city aviation manager Kim Day said.
Bill Davis, an assistant Denver fire chief assigned to the airport, said it was a miracle "that everybody survived the impact and the fire."
Thirty-eight people suffered injuries, including broken bones. Officials weren't sure whether injuries were caused by the impact or the evacuation.
The weather was clear but cold when the plane attempted to take off for Houston about 6:20 p.m. Saturday. Winds at the airport were 31 mph, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The runways are elevated so rain and snow will drain away.
"No other aircraft opted against taking off due to wind" before Flight 1404 tried to lift off, Gregor said.
Davis, one of the firefighters who rushed to the scene, said the plane came to a rest about 200 yards from one of the airport's four fire stations. Passengers walked out of the ravine in 24-degree cold and crowded inside the station, he said.
A crack encircled much of the fuselage near the trailing edge of the wings, Davis said. There were 110 passengers and five crew members aboard, officials said.
Passenger Gabriel Trejos told ABC's "Good Morning America" in Denver that the plane buckled during its high-speed skid across the ground and seats came loose. His knees were bruised from the seat in front of him as he tried to protect his 13-month-old son in his lap.
"That's all I could think of, just please don't squish the baby," he said. "Everybody was shocked about what was going on. They were just trying to hang on for dear life."
His pregnant wife, Maria Trejos, said that there was an explosion and that the right side of the plane, where they were sitting, became engulfed in flames. The family used an emergency exit and slid down the wing of the jet to the ground.
Passenger Kristina Beagle, 22, of Houston, told CBS' "Early Show" that she thought the plane close to takeoff speed and felt like it was in the air before it slammed along the ground.
"It was like we were in a movie," she said. "People were screaming and once I heard the people scream, I realized, oh, my gosh, we're crashing."
But the evacuation was orderly, even as the right side of the plane burned. "I just felt a glow on my right side. That was the only light I had in the entire cabin and I felt the warmth," Beagle said. "For some reason I just didn't believe it was happening."
Many passengers from the flight arrived in Houston, its original destination, on Sunday afternoon, some clearly injured, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The gate where relatives waited at Bush Intercontinental Airport was blocked off from the rest of the terminal. One woman limped off the flight with red-rimmed eyes; another was in a wheelchair, wearing a neck brace, the newspaper reported. A young boy was taken by stretcher straight to an elevator.
Sumwalt, of the NTSB, said the damaged plane would remain for several days in the 40-foot-deep ravine where it landed. That runway will remain closed during the investigation, he said.
Besides the 1995 engine failure, the FAA records show four other trouble reports. Inspections in 2005 found corrosion on the airplane frame and a cracked rivet, both of which were repaired.
In 1996, a grease buildup caused a galley oven to smoke, and in April of this year, a detector gave a false indicator of smoke in a cargo hold. Both problems were repaired, the records show.
Jim Proulx, a Boeing spokesman, said the company was supporting the NTSB investigation.
"We will also do whatever we can to learn the cause of this accident so that we can prevent a recurrence at Continental or at any other airline," said Larry Kellner, Continental's chairman and chief executive officer.
---
Associated Press Writers Judith Kohler and Dan Elliott in Denver contributed to this report.

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10:13 a.m.

By KRISTEN WYATT
Associated Press Writer

DENVER (AP) - Investigators returned to the charred wreckage of a Continental Airlines jetliner Monday in search of clues about why the plane veered off a runway in Denver and skidded into a shallow ravine.
The twin-engine Boeing 737-500 still sat in a shallow, snow-covered ravine where it came to rest after its aborted take-off Saturday at Denver International Airport.
National Transportation Safety Board officials want to make use of scarce daylight hours Monday to examine the wreck, measure skid marks and then conduct their first interviews of the pilots.
Flight data and cockpit voice recorders were recovered and sent for examination to Washington, D.C. It appeared both were in good condition, the NTSB said Sunday.
The accident forced the 115 passengers and crew aboard Continental Airlines' Flight 1404 to flee through emergency exits as the plane burned.
The jet had shed its left engine and both main landing gears, and caught fire. The entire right side of the jet was burned, and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats.
The plane veered off course about 2,000 feet from the end of the runway and did not appear to have gotten airborne, city aviation manager Kim Day said.
Bill Davis, an assistant Denver fire chief assigned to the airport, said it was a miracle "that everybody survived the impact and the fire."
Thirty-eight people suffered injuries, including broken bones. Officials weren't sure whether injuries were caused by the impact or the evacuation.
The weather was clear but cold when the plane attempted to take off for Houston around 6:20 p.m. Saturday. Winds at the airport were 31 mph, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The runways are elevated so rain and snow will drain away.
"No other aircraft opted against taking off due to wind" before Flight 1404 tried to lift off, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.
Davis, one of the firefighters who rushed to the scene, said the plane came to a rest about 200 yards from one of the airport's four fire stations. Passengers walked out of the ravine in 24-degree cold and crowded inside the station, he said.
A crack encircled much of the fuselage near the trailing edge of the wings, Davis said. There were 110 passengers and five crew members aboard, officials said.
Passenger Gabriel Trejos told ABC's "Good Morning America" in Denver that the plane buckled during its high-speed skid across the ground and seats came loose. His knees were bruised from the seat in front of him as he tried to protect his 13-month-old son in his lap.
"That's all I could think of, just please don't squish the baby," he said. "Everybody was shocked about what was going on. They were just trying to to hang on for dear life."
His pregnant wife, Maria Trejos, said that there was an explosion and that the right side of the plane, where they were sitting, became engulfed in flames. The family used an emergency exit and slid down the wing of the jet to the ground.
Passenger Kristina Beagle, 22, of Houston, told CBS' "Early Show" that she thought the plane close to takeoff speed and felt like it was in the air before it slammed along the ground.
"It was like we were in a movie," she said. "People were screaming and once I heard the people scream, I realized, oh, my gosh, we're crashing."
But the evacuation was orderly, even as the right side of the plane burned. "I just felt a glow on my right side. That was the only light i had in the entire cabin and I felt the warmth," Beagle said. "For some reason I just didn't believe it was happening."
Many passengers from the flight arrived in Houston, its original destination, on Sunday afternoon, some clearly injured, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The gate where relatives waited at Bush Intercontinental Airport was blocked off from the rest of the terminal. One woman limped off the flight with red-rimmed eyes; another was in a wheelchair, wearing a neck brace, the newspaper reported. A young boy was taken by stretcher straight to an elevator.
Sumwalt, of the NTSB, said the damaged plane would remain for several days in the 40-foot-deep ravine where it landed. That runway will remain closed during the investigation, he said.
Jim Proulx, a Boeing spokesman, said the company was supporting the NTSB investigation. He declined to comment on whether Boeing had any indication of possible problems with the 737-500 jetliner.
"We will also do whatever we can to learn the cause of this accident so that we can prevent a recurrence at Continental or at any other airline," said Larry Kellner, Continental's chairman and chief executive officer.