Just as the captain relaxed rudder pressure while tracking the runway centerline for takeoff on a tumultuously windy day, the Boeing 737-500 was struck by a strong gust. Like a weathervane, the airplane turned into the crosswind and then ran off the side of the runway. Five of the 110 passengers and the captain were seriously injured; 38 passengers, two flight attendants and the first officer sustained minor injuries; 67 passengers and one flight attendant escaped injury. The airplane was substantially damaged during the excursion and postcrash fire.
In its final report on the accident, which occurred at Denver International Airport the afternoon of Dec. 20, 2008, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that the probable cause was “the captain’s cessation of rudder input, which was needed to maintain directional control of the airplane, about four seconds before the excursion, when the airplane encountered a strong and gusty crosswind that exceeded the captain…
