A Continental Airlines Sabreliner, Model NA-265-60, N743R, crashed shortly after takeoff from Montrose Airport, Montrose, Colorado, at 1635 m.s.t., on April 13, 1973. The two pilots were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire. Witnesses saw the aircraft climb straight off the runaway to about 1000 feet above the ground, make a shallow right turn, and then begin a left turn which steepened as the nose dropped. After the crash, an examination of the left engine revealed that the left engine thurst reverser was in the deployed position. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the continued operation of the left engine at climb power after an unwanted in-flight deployment of the left engine thrust reverser, which resulted in a deterioration of aircraft performance.
Aircraft Accident Report. Continental Airlines Saberliner Model NA-265-60, N743R Montrose, Colorado, April 13, 1973
1973
25 pages
Report
No indication
English