Afternoon:
14°c
Blazing Boeing is torn in half but all 115 people escape alive
Ed Harris22.12.08
A Boeing 737 with 115 passengers and crew on board was almost torn in half when it crashed on take-off and burst into flames - but everyone got off the plane alive.
"It was a miracle that everybody survived the impact and the fire," said assistant fire chief Bill Davis. "It was just amazing."
Continental Airlines Flight 1404 was taxiing along the runway at Denver International Airport on Saturday evening when it veered off course.
Debris was scattered on the runway behind the plane which came to rest in a snow-covered ravine 200 yards from one of the airport's fire stations. The entire right side of the plane was burned and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats. A crack encircled much of the fuselage and the left engine had broken loose and ended up 30 feet away.
Passengers and crew members scrambled from the plane on emergency slides and walked out of the ravine. One of those on board, Emily Pellegrini, said of the attempt to take off: "It was bumpy, then it was bumpier, then it wasn't bumpy."
Thirty-eight people suffered injuries, including broken bones, with one listed as serious.
Federal aviation investigators said the weather was cold but not snowy at the time of the crash.
