Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32 incident near Denver, Colorado, November 9, 1983
On November 9, 1983 at about 4:40 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32, registered N3512T, was involved in an incident near Denver, Colorado (Stapleton International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 53 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 9, 1983 · about 4:40 pm local time
- Place
- Denver, Colorado · Stapleton International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 53 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32 · all DC-9-32s on the register
- Registration
- N3512T · registry record · serial 4811
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
APPROACHING FROM THE EAST THERE ARE 4 PARALLEL 'STRIPS' AT THE ARPT. FROM L TO R THEY ARE RWY 26L, TAXIWAY 'CHARLIE' RWY 26R & RWY 25. RWY 26L & TAXIWAY CHARLIE ARE THE SAME LENGTH. ALL 4 ARE CONCRETE COVERED. THE FLT WAS CLEARED TO LANDON RWY 26R. RWY 26L WAS BEING USED FOR INSTRUMENT APPROACHES. ABOUT 2 INCHES OF SNOW HAD FALLEN THE PREVIOUS NIGHT. SNOWREMOVAL EQUIP'T HAD CLEARED RWY 26L, RWY 26R & TAXIWAY CHARLIE BUT ALL RWYS & TAXIWAYS WERE 60-75% COVERED WITH UP TO 1/8 INCH OF MELTING SLUSH. THE CREW STATED THEY SAW WHAT APPEARED TO THEM TO BE 3 SNOW PLOWED RWYS AHEAD OF THEM: RWY 26L, 26R & 25. THEY LANDED ON THE MIDDLE STRIP. THE 3 'RWYS' THEY SAW WERE IN FACT 26L, TAXIWAY CHARLIE & 26R. THE TAXIWAY THEY HAD LANDED ON HAS A LOAD BEARING WEIGHT OF 700,000 LBS. THE RWY LIGHTS, TAXIWAY LIGHTS & ALL LIGHTING ASSOCIATED WITH THE RWYS & THE APPROACH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF RWY 26R VASI LIGHTS, HAD BEEN TURNED OFF. THE CREW AGREEDDURING FINAL THAT THEY WERE LINED UP WITH RWY 26R & COMMENTED THAT THE GLARE WAS '...REAL BAD...'
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 247 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 109,000 lb
- Seats: 116
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Continental Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: IAH Houston TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 26R, 7,926 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 8 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:48 pm from DEN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 48 |
Other NTSB records under N3512T the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DEN84IA023.