United Airlines Flight 585 facts for kids
A United Airlines Boeing 737-200, similar to the one involved in the crash
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 3 March 1991 |
| Summary | Loss of control due to rudder hardover |
| Place | Widefield Park, El Paso County near Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States 38°44′09.4″N 104°42′42.4″W / 38.735944°N 104.711778°W |
| Passengers | 20 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 25 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-291 |
| Airline/user | United Airlines |
| Registration | N999UA |
| Flew from | Greater Peoria Regional Airport |
| Stopover | Quad City International Airport |
| Last stopover | Stapleton International Airport |
| Flying to | Colorado Springs Municipal Airport |
United Airlines Flight 585 was a passenger flight that crashed on March 3, 1991. The plane was flying from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado. There were 20 passengers and 5 crew members on board. As the plane was getting ready to land, its rudder suddenly moved all the way to one side and got stuck. This is called a "rudder hardover." The plane then rolled over and fell out of the sky. All 25 people on board died in the crash.
At first, investigators could not figure out why the plane crashed. But after other similar accidents with Boeing 737 planes, they found the cause. It was a problem with how the 737's rudder control system was designed.
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The Aircraft and Crew
Flight 585 was a Boeing 737-291 airplane. Its registration number was N999UA. This plane was first built in 1982 for another airline called Frontier Airlines. United Airlines bought it in 1986. By the time of the accident, the plane had flown for about 26,000 hours.
The flight crew included Captain Harold Green, who was 52 years old. The First Officer was Patricia Eidson, 42 years old. There were also three flight attendants. Captain Green was a very experienced pilot. He had flown for United Airlines for over 10,000 hours. He was known for always following the rules. First Officer Eidson had flown for over 4,000 hours. Captain Green thought she was a very good pilot.
Just before the crash, this same airplane had two strange events. On February 25, 1991, the rudder suddenly moved to the right while the plane was flying. The crew managed to fix it. Two days later, a similar thing happened. Four days after that, the plane crashed.
The Accident Flight
Flight 585 was a regular flight for United Airlines. It started in General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport in Peoria, Illinois. It made stops in Moline, Illinois and Denver. Its final stop was Colorado Springs Municipal Airport. On March 3, 1991, the flight went smoothly from Peoria to Denver.
At 9:23 AM, the plane left Denver with 20 passengers and 5 crew members. It was supposed to land in Colorado Springs at 9:46 AM. At 9:37 AM, air traffic control told the plane it was clear to land. Suddenly, the plane rolled sharply to the right. Its nose also pointed down. The pilots tried to make the plane go up again. They changed the flaps and increased engine power.
However, the plane lost height very quickly. It crashed into Widefield Park. This park was less than 4 miles (6.4 km) from the runway. The plane hit the ground at a speed of about 245 miles per hour (394 km/h). The impact caused a large explosion. The crash left a big hole in the ground, about 39 by 24 feet (12 by 7.3 m) wide and 15 feet (4.6 m) deep. Everyone on board died instantly. An eight-year-old girl who lived nearby was knocked down by the force of the crash. She had minor injuries.
The Investigation Begins
First Investigation Efforts
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) started a detailed investigation. It lasted for 21 months.
The plane had a flight data recorder (FDR). This device records information about the plane's flight. Even though its outside case was damaged, the data tape inside was fine. All the information could be used. The FDR recorded things like the plane's direction, height, speed, and how much force it was feeling. But it did not record information about the rudder or other control surfaces. This missing data made it hard for the NTSB to understand what happened in the plane's last moments. The available data was not enough to explain why the plane suddenly went into a dive. The NTSB thought about a problem with the rudder's control system. They also thought about strong winds from the nearby Rocky Mountains. But they did not have enough proof for either idea.
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was also damaged. But its tape was also intact. However, the tape was creased, so the sound quality was poor. The CVR showed that the pilots tried to react to the loss of control.
The first NTSB report came out on December 8, 1992. It did not state a clear "probable cause" for the crash. It said that even after a lot of investigation, they could not find clear evidence to explain the crash of United Airlines Flight 585.
Similar Accidents and New Clues
After the NTSB's first report, another Boeing 737 crashed in 1994. This was USAir Flight 427. It crashed in Pennsylvania under very similar conditions.
Second Investigation and the Real Cause
Because the two crashes were so similar, the NTSB reopened its investigation into Flight 585. They investigated it at the same time as Flight 427.
During this new investigation, they found that both Flight 585 and Flight 427 crashed because of a sudden problem with the plane's rudder control system. Another event helped them reach this conclusion. This was Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 in 1996. That plane also had a rudder problem while landing, but it did not crash.
On March 27, 2001, the NTSB released a new report for Flight 585. This report finally found the "probable cause." It said that the pilots lost control because the rudder moved unexpectedly to its limit. This happened because a part inside the rudder's control unit got stuck. This caused the rudder to move in the opposite direction of what the pilots were trying to do.
In Popular Culture
The TV show Mayday (also known as Air Crash Investigation) made an episode about Flight 585. It showed the crash and the investigation into the Boeing 737 rudder problems. The episode was called Hidden Danger and came out in 2007.
See also
In Spanish: Vuelo 585 de United Airlines para niños
