Plane drama 'surreal'

2008-12-21 17:10

Denver - Firefighters said it was like something out of a movie - passengers emerging from a smoke-filled ravine where the remains of a Boeing 737 lay in flames, its landing gear and left engine shorn off.

Denver Fire Department Division Chief Patrick Hynes called it "surreal". The fire burned the entire right side of the plane, and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats below.

Thirty-eight people suffered injuries including broken bones, and two were in critical condition with fractures after the Saturday evening accident, officials said.

Passenger Mike Wilson of Denver described a chaotic scramble to leave the burning plane on updates he posted on Twitter.com from the airport using his cellphone.

"By the time the plane stopped we were burning pretty well and I think I could feel the heat even through the bulkhead and window," he wrote. "I made for the exit door as quickly as I could, fearing the right wing might explode from the fire. Once out, I scrambled down the wing."

Emily Pellegrini, a 21-year-old student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, was on her way to Houston to see her parents. She left her cellphone and all her personal items behind in the rush to get off the plane.

"There was a fire after the crash, and I just went with the flow off the plane," she told The Denver Post. "That seemed like the thing to do."

The 107 passengers and five crew members made it out through slides, and firefighters put out the blaze quickly, said airport spokesperson Jeff Green.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. The weather in Denver was cold but not snowy when Continental Flight 1404 took off from Denver International Airport for Houston around 18:20.

The plane veered off course about 600m from the end of the runway and did not appear to be airborne, airport manager of aviation Kim Day said. Debris was left scattered on the runway, with the plane about 200m away.

Day said travellers should expect delays on Sunday, a busy travel day.

National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration inspectors were on the scene.

- AP