Denver jet wreckage investigated

December 24, 2008

DENVER - Investigators returned yesterday to the wreckage of a Continental Airlines jetliner that veered off a runway last weekend. They rushed to collect evidence ahead of snow, which was expected to move in later in the day.

One group was working inside the charred fuselage of the plane to document its condition, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said.

Authorities are trying to determine why an odd bumping and rattling noise was heard on the flight's recorders in the seconds before Saturday's crash, which injured 38 people at Denver International Airport.

The noise was detected 41 seconds after the jet, bound for Houston, started speeding down the runway. Four seconds later, one of the crew members called for the takeoff to be aborted, said Robert Sumwalt, another NTSB spokesman.

The recording ends six seconds after that, probably because the plane slammed to the ground after hurtling off an embankment, he said.

Sumwalt revealed the findings from the initial review of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders on Monday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS