United Airlines Flight 585

United Airlines Flight 585
United Airlines Flight 585
Occurrence summary
Date 3 March 1991
Type Rudder Malfunction
Site Security-Widefield, El Paso County, near Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Passengers 20
Crew 5
Injuries 0
Fatalities 25
Survivors 0
Aircraft type Boeing 737-291
Operator United Airlines
Tail number N999UA [22742] (f/n 1299)
Flight origin Greater Peoria Regional Airport
Last stopover Stapleton International Airport
Destination Colorado Springs Airport

United Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled domestic passenger airline flight from the now-decommissioned Stapleton International Airport in Denver to Colorado Springs Municipal Airport in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

On 3 March 1991, the Boeing 737-200, registered N999UA, carrying 20 passengers plus a flight crew of 5 (Captain Harold Green, 52, First Officer Patricia Eidson, 42, and three flight attendants) crashed while on final approach to runway 35 at the Colorado Springs airport. There were no survivors.

Flight 585 suddenly rolled to the right and began to pitch downward, nose first. Attempts to initiate a go-around using a thrust increase and 15-degree flaps were unsuccessful. As the altitude decreased, acceleration increased to 4g. The 737 crashed into nearby Widefield Park, less than four miles from the runway threshold.

Contents

Investigations

The subsequent investigation by the NTSB lasted one year and 9 months.

Although the flight data recorder (FDR) outer protective case was damaged, the foil tape inside was intact and all the data was extractable. The FDR only recorded five parameters: heading; altitude; airspeed; normal acceleration (G loads); and microphone keying. The data proved insufficient to establish why the plane suddenly went into the fatal dive. The NTSB considered the possibilities of a malfunction of the rudder power control unit (PCU) servo (which might have caused the rudder to reverse) and the effect that powerful rotor winds coming off of the nearby Rocky Mountains might have had, but there was not enough evidence to prove either hypothesis.

Thus, the first NTSB report (issued on 8 December 1992) did not conclude with the usual "probable cause." Instead, it said "The National Transportation Safety Board, after an exhaustive investigation effort, could not identify conclusive evidence to explain the loss of United Airlines flight 585." [1]

Probable cause

The NTSB reopened the UAL 585 case after the crash of another B-737, USAir Flight 427, which occurred three-and-a-half years later. It was eventually determined that both crashes were the result of a sudden malfunction of the rudder power control unit. The pilots lost control of the airplane because "The rudder surface most likely deflected in a direction opposite to that commanded by the pilots as a result of a jam of the main rudder power control unit servo valve secondary slide to the servo valve housing offset from its neutral position and overtravel of the primary slide."[2]

Dramatization

The story of the disaster was featured on the sixth season of Canadian National Geographic Channel show Mayday (known as Air Emergency in the US, Mayday in Ireland and Air Crash Investigation in the UK and the rest of world). The episode is entitled "Hidden Danger".

See also

Notes

External links

Coordinates: 38°44′09.4″N 104°42′42.4″W / 38.735944°N 104.711778°W / 38.735944; -104.711778


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • United Airlines Flight 553 — Infobox Airliner accident|name=United Airlines Flight 553 Date=December 8, 1972 Type=Pilot error Site=Chicago, Illinois Fatalities=45 (2 on the ground) Injuries=16 Aircraft Type=Boeing 737 222 Operator=United Airlines Tail… …   Wikipedia

  • United Airlines — For other uses, see United Airlines (disambiguation). This article is about the airline. For information about the airline s parent company, see United Continental Holdings. United Airlines …   Wikipedia

  • Vol 585 United Airlines — Vol 585 United Airlines …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 — Infobox Airliner accident name=Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 Date=June 9 1996 Type=Loss of control Site=Richmond, Virginia Fatalities=0 Injuries=1 Aircraft Type=Boeing 737 200 Origin = Trenton Mercer Airport Destination = Richmond International… …   Wikipedia

  • Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 — Gottröra Crash Accident summary Date 27 December 1991 Type Propulsion loss Site …   Wikipedia

  • China Airlines Flight 358 — B 198 at changi Airport in 1985 Accident summary Date Decembe …   Wikipedia

  • Vol 811 United Airlines — Vol 811 United Airlines …   Wikipédia en Français

  • USAir Flight 427 — Occurrence summary Date September 8, 1994 Type Rudder malfunction Site …   Wikipedia

  • MetroJet Flight 2710 — A MetroJet 737 200, similar to the one involved Occurrence summary Date February 23, 1999 …   Wikipedia

  • Adam Air Flight 574 — Flight Route Accident summary Date 1 January 2007 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”