Boeing 737-300 accident near Denver, Colorado, February 20, 1986
On February 20, 1986 at about 9:39 pm local time, a Boeing 737-300, registered N17309, was substantially damaged in an accident near Denver, Colorado (Stapleton Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 111 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 accident. 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
- February 20, 1986 · about 9:39 pm local time
- Place
- Denver, Colorado · Stapleton Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 111 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-300 · all 737-300s on the register
- Registration
- N17309 · registry record · serial 23360
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
F/O WAS ON THE 3RD INITIAL OPERATING EXPERIENCE FLT WITH A CHECK AIRMAN. CAPT AND F/O HAD DISCUSSED RAPID RATE OF ROTATION ON PREVIOUS FLTS AND AGAIN ON ACCIDENT FLT. THE F/O PERFORMED THE TAKEOFF FROM DENVER AND EXCEEDED ROTATION RATE OF 3 DEGREES PER SEC. THE AFT FUSELAGE UNDERBELLY STRUCK THE RWY, SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGING THE AIRCRAFT.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 531 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,591 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 7, 1986; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 139,000 lb
- Seats: 149
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CFM-56-3 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Continental Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Destination: SLC Salt Lake City UT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 8R, 10,010 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from DEN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 105 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 DEN86FA080.