United Airlines Flight 585

United Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled passenger flight on March 3, 1991 from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado, carrying 20 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane experienced a rudder hardover while on final approach to runway 35 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, causing the plane to roll over and enter an uncontrolled dive. All 25 people onboard were killed.

The NTSB was initially unable to resolve the cause of the crash, but after similar accidents and incidents involving Boeing 737 aircraft, the crash was determined to be caused by a defect in the design of the 737's rudder power control unit.

Aircraft and flight crew

Flight 585 was operated by a Boeing 737-291, registered . The 737 was originally manufactured for the "old" Frontier Airlines in 1982 and was acquired by United Airlines in 1986 when the former went out of business (a new airline company with the same name formed eight years later). On the date of the accident, the aircraft had accumulated approximately 26,000 flight hours.

The flight crew consisted of Captain Harold Green (52), First Officer Patricia Eidson (42), and 3 flight attendants. The captain, who had over 10,000 hours as a United Airlines pilot (including 1,732 hours on the Boeing 737), was regarded by colleagues as a conservative pilot who always followed standard operating procedures. The first officer had accumulated over 4,000 flight hours (including 1,077 hours on the Boeing 737), and she was considered by Captain Green to be a very competent pilot.

On February 25, 1991, the aircraft was flying at 10,000 feet when the rudder abruptly deflected 10 degrees to the right. The crew onboard reduced power and the aircraft returned to normal flight. A similar event occurred two days later. Four days later, the aircraft crashed.

Accident

Flight 585 was a regularly scheduled United Airlines Flight from General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport in Peoria, Illinois to Colorado Springs, Colorado, making intermediate stops at Quad City International Airport in Moline, Illinois and the now-decommissioned Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. On March 3, 1991, the flight operated from Peoria to Denver without incident.

At 09:23 AM Mountain Standard Time, Flight 585 departed Denver with 20 passengers and 5 crew members on board and was scheduled to arrive in Colorado Springs at 09:46 AM. At 09:37 AM, the aircraft was cleared for a visual approach to runway 35. The aircraft then suddenly rolled to the right and pitched nose down. The crew tried to initiate a go-around by selecting 15-degree flaps and an increase in thrust. The altitude decreased rapidly and acceleration increased to over 4G until the aircraft crashed into Widefield Park, less than from the runway threshold, at a speed of . The aircraft was destroyed on impact and fire in the crater was fed by the fuel released from the ruptured wing tanks. According to the accident report, the crash carved a crater and deep. Everyone on board was killed instantly.

Investigation

Initial investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) commenced an investigation, which lasted for 21 months.

Although the flight data recorder (FDR) outer protective case was damaged, the data tape inside was intact and all of the data were recoverable. Five parameters were recorded by the FDR: heading, altitude, airspeed, normal acceleration ( G loads), and microphone keying. The FDR did not record rudder, aileron or spoiler deflection data, which could have aided the NTSB in reconstructing the plane's final moments. The data available 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 servo (which might have caused the rudder to reverse) and the effect that powerful rotor winds from the nearby Rocky Mountains may have had, but there was not enough evidence to prove either hypothesis.

The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was also damaged, but the data tape inside was also intact. However, the data tape had creases in it, resulting in the playback quality being poor. The CVR determined that the pilots made a verbal (and possible physical) response to the loss of control.

The following is an excerpt of the last two minutes Flight 585 CVR, starting two minutes before impact (the full CVR recording started before Flight 585 took off from Stapleton):

Thus, the first NTSB report (issued on December 8, 1992) did not conclude with the usual "probable cause". Instead, it stated:

Intervening events

Following the failure to identify the cause of Flight 585's crash, another Boeing 737 crash occurred under very similar circumstances when USAir Flight 427 crashed while attempting to land in Pennsylvania in 1994.

Renewed investigation and probable cause

The NTSB reopened its investigation into Flight 585 in parallel with the USAir Flight 427 investigation, due to the similar nature of the circumstances.

During the NTSB's renewed investigation, it was determined that the crash of Flight 585 (and the later Flight 427 crash) was the result of a sudden malfunction of the aircraft's rudder power control unit. Another incident (non-fatal) that contributed to the conclusion was that of Eastwind Airlines Flight 517, which had a similar problem upon approach to Richmond on June 9, 1996. On March 27, 2001, the NTSB issued a revised final report for Flight 585, which found that the pilots lost control of the airplane because of a mechanical malfunction. The renewed investigation concluded with a "probable cause" that stated:

In popular culture

The Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic TV series '' Mayday'' dramatized the crash of Flight 585 and the subsequent 737 rudder investigation in a 2007 episode titled ''Hidden Danger''.

The crash is dramatized in the episode "Fatal Flaws" of ''Why Planes Crash''.

See also

* Boeing 737 rudder issues
* Eastwind Airlines Flight 517
* USAir Flight 427
* Alaska Airlines Flight 261
* American Airlines Flight 1
* Northwest Airlines Flight 85

References

External links

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Archive

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Airliners.net Pre-crash photos

Recording of the air traffic control transmissions between the aircraft and Colorado Springs

{{United Continental Holdings

Transportation in Colorado Springs, Colorado
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