Boeing 737-201 accident near Denver, Colorado, May 4, 1997
On May 4, 1997 at about 7:25 pm local time, a Boeing 737-201, registered N217US, was involved in an accident near Denver, Colorado (Denver International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 96 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight attendant's failure to assure that the jetway was placed in the proper position prior to opening the forward cabin entry door.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 4, 1997 · about 7:25 pm local time
- Place
- Denver, Colorado · Denver International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 96 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-201 · all 737-201s on the register
- Registration
- N217US · registry record · serial 20215
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The parked airplane was ready for pushback when the 'B' flight attendant told the 'A' flight attendant that a thru passenger had reported the cabin cleaning crew had mistakenly removed his child's stuffed animal and he wanted it returned. The 'A' flight attendant opened the forward entry door after the jetway had backed away from the airplane. Either losing his balance or not realizing the jetway had backed away, he fell 8 feet, 3 inches to the tarmac below, fracturing both wrists, his jaw, and sustaining a concussion. According to the company's chief flight attendant, the injured flight attendant violated company policy and procedures by opening the cabin door prior to the jetway being placed in position.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,257 hours in all; 1,307 in this make and model; 185 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 7,605 as pilot in command; 1,774 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 65,179 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 3, 1997; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 109,000 lb
- Seats: 116
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9A (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Frontier Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: DEN
- Destination: MSP Minneapolis MN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from DEN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 4 | ||
| Passengers | 92 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N217US 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 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 FTW97LA177.