NTSB: Pilot could have prevented Denver air crash, wasn’t prepared for strong crosswind gusts

NTSB: Pilot could have prevented Denver air crash

WASHINGTON — Safety investigators say the captain of an airliner that ran off a runway in Denver during a strong crosswind could have prevented the accident if he had used the plane’s rudder to correct its direction.

Investigators told the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday the captain had a lot of flying experience and a good safety record, but he had probably never attempted a takeoff in crosswinds as strong as he faced the evening of Dec. 20, 2008. Nor had he been trained for gusts that high.

The Continental Airlines Boeing 737 with 110 passengers and five crew members was in the midst of a takeoff roll at Denver International Airport when it suddenly veered left off a runway, rumbled across a frozen field, broke into pieces and burned.