Passengers escape burning jet in Denver; 38 hurt
DENVER – Passengers expecting a flight to Texas instead had to flee their burning airliner, sprawled in a smoke-filled ravine off a runway with the fuselage partially buckled and one engine and part of its landing gear ripped off.There was no official word yet Sunday on the possible cause of the crash of Continental Flight 1404 at Denver International Airport.
The entire right side of the Boeing 737 was burned in the Saturday evening accident and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats.
Thirty-eight people suffered injuries including broken bones. The conditions of two people who had been in critical condition at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver were upgraded Sunday, one to serious and one to fair, spokeswoman Tonya Ewers said.