Landed in DEN 5 minutes before
We were pax on a flight that touched down at 6:10. Tower gave weather confirming the winds someone listed above - 220 @ 20 gusting high 30s.
For the main rways 35 L/R and 34 L/R that's a quartering tailwind.
The weather was mostly clear but there were obvious ice patches on the taxiways as we taxied in about 90 minutes after local sunset.
We were not aware that anything had happened until we left the airport by cab 25 minutes later and saw emergency equipment lights rolling on access roads and taxiways.
We were a United flight, so I was following the cockpit communications during approach on the cabin audio (ch. 9), and at least one other Frontier flight ahead of us requested rway 26 because "the winds are over our limits" for X-wind landing.
OTOH we had a smooth touchdown (757) on 35L a mile east of the accident rway and there was a Saab turboprop on a parallel approach with us to 35R that also landed OK at the same time.
Reports here all seem to point to a starboard engine/wing fire or explosion AFTER the plane had already veered and/or dropped, so it sounds like it may have been an aftereffect rather than the cause - but clearly it is way too early to rule much in or out.
Does sound like an inopportune wind gust will be one of several suspects.
Reports say the craft had traveled 2000 feet down the rway (corresponds to the diagram and analysis above) - would a 737 at 5,400 feet elev. have reached Vr and rotated in that distance? Seems short. OTOH a low speed would account for the relatively low number of casualties.
Last edited by pattern_is_full; 21st Dec 2008 at 17:46.