23 DEC 2008 _______________________________________ *NTSB: Wheels, brakes didn't cause Continental accident *Investigators probe Denver runway crash *Investigators: Pilots Aborted Takeoff *Continental 737 crash: Pilot called for rejected take-off *Investigators: Jet made odd noise *UAL Looks To Form Non-Traditional Relationship With Continental *NASA Study Links Severe Storm Increases To Global Warming **************************************** NTSB: Wheels, brakes didn't cause Continental accident NTSB says early evidence does not point to tires, brakes or landing gear Earlier report from CNN source suggested a potential problem Captain was injured in accident and hasn't been interviewed yet Jet veered off runway into a 40-foot-deep ravine during its takeoff in Denver Saturday DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- Early indications show no problems with the landing gear, tires or brakes on the Continental Airlines jet that veered off a runway at Denver International Airport in Colorado, despite earlier reports. The wreckage of the Continental Airlines plane sits in a ravine December 22 in Denver, Colorado. 1 of 2 "There's no indication from the physical examination on the scene of brake problems at this time," said Robert Sumwalt, a National Transportation Safety Board member leading the investigation team. Saturday's accident injured more than three dozen people, including the captain who piloted the plane. Sumwalt said preliminary evidence indicated no problems with the Boeing 737's landing gear, tires or engines before the jet ran off the runway into a 40-foot-deep ravine during its take-off roll. Earlier Monday, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that early indications suggested that a problem with the landing gear, tire or brakes may have caused the accident. The source said the problem could have caused a wheel to lock up or some other situation that would have made the plane veer off as it headed down the runway. Watch what NTSB official has to say about flight recorders > "The brakes showed no leaks, no locked brakes," Sumwalt told reporters late Monday, adding that the brake pads "looked good." He said tire marks indicate that all four main landing gear were inflated. The weather was clear, and no obstacles were on the runway, he said. The accident injured 38 people, most from bruises and broken bones as frightened passengers tried to flee a fire that broke out on board Flight 1404. No fatalities were reported. Sumwalt said the captain, an 11-year veteran of Continental, was injured in the accident and "not physically able" to be interviewed yet. But an investigator interviewed the first officer, who told them that the initial take-off roll and taxi was normal. The the co-pilot "noticed a deviation from the center line of the runway and a sudden left turn," Sumwalt said. An off-duty crew that flew the aircraft into Denver before the Saturday flight to Houston was also on board. The first officer from that crew said there was "absolutely no problem with the aircraft" during the previous flight. Sumwalt said the cockpit voice recorder "shows nothing out of the ordinary" during the preflight operations. He said the recording revealed that 41 seconds after the brakes were released, there were sounds of bumping and rattling. Four seconds later, a crew member called for a rejected takeoff. Flight 1404 was taking off about 6:18 p.m. Sumwalt said the plane reached a maximum speed of 119 knots (137 mph) before going into the ravine. Passengers on Sunday described the chaos inside the plane after the plane came to rest. Watch survivor describe crash on blog > "Some people were trying to get luggage from the top, the engine was on fire so I was worried, you know, about getting out of there," said Gabriel Trejos. "And then we had another guy yelling, 'Oh the plane's gonna blow up! The plane's gonna explode!' " Another passenger, Jeb Tilly, described the experience as "incredibly violent." Watch first responders on the scene > Trejos, who was traveling with his wife and baby, told CNN he sensed something was wrong with the plane before it took off. "I heard something over the intercom before, you know, that they were having engine problems and shortly after that they said that everything's fine ... there's going to be an on-time flight." Continental spokeswoman Julie King, however, told CNN that she was unaware of any announcement of engine problems on board the flight. Sumwalt agreed, saying, "I don't have any information, no one has come to us that they knew of a problem" before the accident. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/23/ntsb.colorado.plane/index.html ************** Investigators probe Denver runway crash By Alan Levin, USA TODAY Investigators pored over charred wreckage and skid marks in the snow Monday, in search of clues that could explain why a Continental Airlines jet skidded off a Denver runway and burst into flames Saturday night. Continental Flight 1404 was attempting to take off for Houston with 110 passengers and five crewmembers when it veered left, rolled over a field and slid on its belly into a ravine, said Robert Sumwalt, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Five people remained in Denver hospitals Monday, one in serious condition, one in fair condition and three in good condition. Among the 38 people injured was one of the jet's pilots, said NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson. The pilot has not been identified. The circumstances of the event have left veteran aviation safety experts baffled. So far, there is no evidence of an engine failure. Even if a problem such as an engine failure occurred as the jet rolled down the runway, the Boeing 737-500 is designed so pilots can maintain control. "You'd keep the airplane tracking straight with the rudder," said John Cox, a former pilot and accident investigator who works as a consultant. Cox believes the mystery behind the crash could be solved soon because both pilots are alive and data from two black-box recorders and the bulk of the wreckage is intact, he said. One clue area investigators will study is the wind during takeoff. Flight 1404 was being buffeted by a 31-mph wind from the left, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Aircraft naturally turn into the wind, which could explain why Flight 1404 left the runway, said Cox and other pilots. However, crosswinds are well within the normal operations of the 737, they said. Passenger Maria Trejos, 30, told the Associated Press on Monday that she thought the plane was about to take off when it veered off the left side of the runway. Trejos said that the cabin was eerily quiet for a moment after the jet came to rest, but fire erupted soon afterward and people began to panic. "I was thinking, 'I don't want to burn. I don't want my baby or my husband to burn,' " said Trejos, who was sitting on the right side of the plane with her husband and their 1-year-old son. The crippled jet remained in the ravine while investigators documented its condition. Debris, including the jet's landing gear and one engine, was strewn across the field where it skidded. The right side of the jet was heavily charred. The NTSB said nothing has been ruled out as a cause. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-12-22-denver-air-accident_N.htm *************** Investigators: Pilots Aborted Takeoff By ANDY PASZTOR Federal investigators said late Monday that an unusual rattling sound can be heard on the cockpit recorder of a Continental Airlines flight shortly before it veered off a runway after an aborted takeoff Saturday, injuring more than three dozen people. National Transportation Safety Board officials said the jet's pilots aborted takeoff at high speed in a bid to keep from hurtling off the side of a runway at Denver International Airport last Saturday. But the plane became uncontrollable anyway and within seconds slammed into a snowy ravine. Lead NTSB investigator Bill English said the plane's data recorder revealed that the thrust-reversers on both of the plane's engines were activated, according to the Associated Press. The devices are normally deployed to stop an aircraft as it moves down a runway. One of the pilots also can be heard on the recorder calling for an aborted takeoff. A Boeing 737 sits in a snowy ravine, left, after a crash Saturday in Denver. Investigators are seeking to explain why the Houston-bound Continental Airlines jet veered off the runway, right, injuring more than three dozen people aboard. No one was killed among the 115 passengers and crew. Robert Sumwalt, the NTSB member on site who is serving as spokesman for the federal and industry crash teams, told a press briefing late Monday that an interview with the plane's copilot revealed that the jet began drifting off the center of the strip as it reached about 103 m.p.h. Board officials estimate the aircraft reached a maximum speed of more than 135 m.p.h. before veering off the runway, sliding across a field and ending in the ravine with its left engine and main landing gear sheared off. Investigators haven't yet interviewed the plane's captain, who was at the controls and remains hospitalized with serious back injuries and bone fractures. NTSB officials are still trying to determine what caused the unusual sound, and whether any engine or brake malfunctions may have contributed to the accident. Mr. Sumwalt said the bumping and rattling sound was first heard 41 seconds after the plane started down the runway, according to the Associated Press. Four seconds later, one of the crew members called for the takeoff to be aborted. Mr. Sumwalt said investigators have found no problems with the plane's engines, tires or brakes, but aren't ruling anything out. Investigators found that the plane's flight control surfaces -- including flaps, slats and speed brakes -- were in proper position. And there was no indication of locked brakes. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123001946569629719.html?mod=googlenews_wsj *************** Continental 737 crash: Pilot called for rejected take-off Cockpit voice-recorder evidence shows one of the pilots of the Continental Airlines Boeing 737-500 involved in the runway excursion accident at Denver called for a rejected take-off. The US National Transportation Safety Board says the call came just four seconds after the recorder picked up a "bumping and rattling sound" as the jet accelerated down runway 34R on 20 December. During a briefing on the accident a spokesman for the NTSB stated that the CVR showed "nothing out of the ordinary" during pre-flight checks and taxi-out for the service to Houston. The NTSB has also reportedly said there is no evidence of any problems with the CFM International CFM56 engines, thrust reversers, brakes or flaps. Twenty-eight seconds after the brakes were released, says the spokesman, one of the pilots stated that take-off power was set. But 41s after release, a "bumping and rattling" began, and the call to reject take-off came at 45s. There was no debris on the runway, which was bare and dry. Main landing-gear tyre marks started 1,900ft from the runway 34R threshold and nose-gear marks began 100ft further on. The jet then began to veer off the centreline, says the spokesman, exiting the runway at 2,650ft from the threshold. It travelled into a grassy area before crossing taxiway WC and striking a berm. As a result of the inertia from the impact, and the profile of the terrain, the aircraft "slightly became airborne". From the point at which it left the runway, the 737 travelled around 2,000ft before coming to rest. The rattling sound continued to the end of the cockpit-voice recording, at 51s. The spokesman indicates that the recording was ended by the triggering of a deceleration 'g-switch', probably from the aircraft's impact with the ground after it struck the berm. Information from the flight-data recorder information is "very good", he adds, and shows that the jet reached a maximum speed of 119kt. At the point where the flight-data recording ceased - again, possibly due to the ground impact - the aircraft was moving at 89kt. Despite the aircraft's suffering severe structural damage and a fire around the right rear fuselage, none of the 115 occupants was killed, although dozens were taken to hospital with varying degrees of injury. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/12/23/320466/continental-737-crash -pilot-called-for-rejected-take-off.html *************** Investigators: Jet made odd noise Flight recorders found at Denver crash site reveal bumping, rattling sound DENVER - Investigators trying to determine why a Continental Airlines plane veered off a runway and skidded into a ravine heard an odd bumping and rattling noise on the flight's recorders shortly before it tried to take off. The noise was detected 41 seconds after the jet started speeding down a runway at Denver International Airport on Saturday. Four seconds later, one of the crew members called for the takeoff to be aborted, said Robert Sumwalt, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board. The recording ends six seconds after that, probably because the plane slammed to the ground after hurtling off an embankment, he said. Sumwalt revealed the findings late Monday after an initial review of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. Experts planned to begin a more in-depth analysis of the contents of the recorders in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday while investigators return to the plane's wreckage in a snowy field at the airport. All 115 passengers and crew members escaped the jet, which caught fire on the right side. Thirty-eight people were injured, including the plane's captain. Sumwalt said investigators have found no problems with the plane's engines, tires or brakes, but they are not yet ruling anything out. The plane traveled about 2,000 feet after leaving the runway, crossing a grassy strip and a taxiway before going off the embankment, hitting the ground at its base. It then went up a slight hill, over an access road and then down another small hill on the other side of the road before landing on its belly, its landing gear shorn off. Thrusters Lead NTSB investigator Bill English said the plane's flight data recorder shows the thrusters on both engines were switched to reverse. He said that normally happens when crew members try to stop a takeoff. Sumwalt said investigators are still gathering information about the exact wind conditions on the runway at the time of the accident. However, he said the cockpit voice recorder contained no comments about wind. Investigators have not yet interviewed the plane's captain, who was flying the plane, because Sumwalt said he is physically unable. He didn't elaborate. They have talked to the first officer, who said the plane began moving off the center of the runway as it reached about 103 mph while speeding down the runway for takeoff. The plane continued to accelerate, reaching a maximum speed of about 137 mph, Sumwalt said. Off-duty crew members who had flown the plane earlier in the day also were on board at the time of the accident, and Sumwalt said the first officer from that crew returned to the plane three times to help rescue passengers. Sumwalt also reported that those crew members said they had no problems with the plane during their flight. A fire charred and ripped open much of the right side of the plane, with the worst damage around a crack around the fuselage. Sumwalt said all the passenger seats remained intact during the plane's wild ride off the runway, although seats in row 18, near the crack, had loose fittings. Sumwalt said the runway was bare and dry when the plane attempted to take off for Houston and no debris was found there. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28330517/ ************** UAL Looks To Form Non-Traditional Relationship With Continental Less A Marriage... More 'Friends, With Benefits' The unlikely pairing of United Airlines with Continental may redefine the very notion of an airline partnership, and analysts are curious to see what 2009 has in store for the two carriers. The two carriers announced in June a framework agreement to cooperate "extensively," linking their networks and services worldwide to generate revenue opportunities, and cost savings and other efficiencies. In addition, Continental plans to join United in Star Alliance -- the largest global airline alliance by far -- ending its membership with the Delta/Northwest-headlined SkyTeam. The agreement isn't a full-fledged merger; Continental soundly rejected that idea in April. However, the Chicago Tribune reports the proposed pairing is looking less and less like a traditional alliance by the day. "What we're doing with Continental is new and going to a place we haven't gone before with any of our partners," said Michael Whitaker, United's senior vice president for alliances, international and regulatory affairs, who's leading that carrier's efforts to join with Continental. Analysts say both carriers want greater leeway in establishing cost-saving partnerships on shared routes... right up to the point anti-trust regulators would become concerned, and without formally merging the two companies. Both sides point to the lack of available funds at either carrier to accomplish that, adding the current political climate probably wouldn't be the best time to approach lawmakers for a $1 billion helping hand. "Financing a transaction in this credit environment would be very difficult," admits United CEO and merger advocate Glenn Tilton. What might result from the pairing of United and Continental, says consultant Robert Mann, could be the framework for an eventual merger down the line. Mann notes the alliance proposed by United and Continental would result in shared frequent flier programs, reservation systems and airport lounges... many of the same benefits Delta netted with its acqusition of Northwest Airlines this year, but without the need for renegotiated labor contracts and other messy formalities. "If the carriers get comfortable over time, who knows what it might lead to?" Mann says. "It's kind of like the dating process." Perhaps the better analogy would be living together... or even "friends with benefits," as both parties appear to want all the perks of a full-fledged merger, while retaining the ability to walk away at any time. Moreover, this could be a precedent for future airline "alliances," notes analyst and former airline pilot Vaughn Cordle... as the ability for passengers to fly on several carriers on a common ticket could negate the need for true mergers. "At that point, it becomes irrelevant whose logo is on the plane," he said. We dunno... that sounds a lot like "planeswapping." What would their parents think? FMI: www.united.com, www.continental.com aero-nes.net ************** NASA Study Links Severe Storm Increases To Global Warming Study's Findings Consistent With Earlier Report, Says Scientists The frequency of extremely high clouds in Earth's tropics -- the type associated with severe storms and rainfall -- is increasing as a result of global warming, according to a study by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. In a presentation Friday to the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, JPL Senior Research Scientist Hartmut Aumann outlined the results of a study based on five years of data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft. The AIRS data were used to observe certain types of tropical clouds linked with severe storms, torrential rain and hail. The instrument typically detects about 6,000 of these clouds each day. Aumann and his team found a strong correlation between the frequency of these clouds and seasonal variations in the average sea surface temperature of the tropical oceans. For every degree Centigrade (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) increase in average ocean surface temperature, the team observed a 45-percent increase in the frequency of the very high clouds. At the present rate of global warming of 0.13 degrees Celsius (0.23 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade, the team inferred the frequency of these storms can be expected to increase by six percent per decade. Climate modelers have long speculated that the frequency and intensity of severe storms may or may not increase with global warming. Aumann said results of the study will help improve their models. "Clouds and rain have been the weakest link in climate prediction," said Aumann. "The interaction between the daytime warming of the sea surface under clear-sky conditions and increases in the formation of low clouds, high clouds and, ultimately, rain is very complicated. The high clouds in our observations-typically at altitudes of 20 kilometers (12 miles) and higher-present the greatest difficulties for current climate models, which aren't able to resolve cloud structures smaller than about 250 kilometers (155 miles) in size." Aumann said the results of his study, published recently in Geophysical Research Letters, are consistent with another NASA-funded study by Frank Wentz and colleagues in 2005. That study found an increase in the global rain rate of 1.5 percent per decade over 18 years, a value that is about five times higher than the value estimated by climate models that were used in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. FMI: http://airs.jpl.nasa.gov/ aero-news.net ***************