Data Recorders Recovered From Wreckage

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 12.22.08 1700 EST: Robert Sumwalt, member of the National Transportation Safety Board and leader of the Go Team tasked with investigating Saturday's takeoff crash of a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-500, updated reporters on the state of the inquiry during a Monday afternoon news conference in Denver... but so far, there's little concrete information to report.

"Our goal is to be very methodical," Sumwalt said. "To do it right, once the airplane is moved, we can't go back and say how was this switch set?"

Sumwalt says NTSB teams spent the better part of Monday assessing interior damage to the airliner, with an Ops group conducting interviews with passengers throughout the day. The aircraft's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered in good condition, and have been sent to Washington, DC for analysis.

The captain of the accident flight has not yet been interviewed, Sumwalt added, but will be soon. "We want to make sure he or she is mentally ready -- physically and mentally ready to be interviewed," he said.

Sumwalt declined to confirm reports from some passengers, saying the airline had initially announced a delay to the flight's departure time due to engine problems -- but later said the flight would pull away from the gate on-time after all.

As ANN reported, Flight 1404 departed the runway on takeoff Saturday evening. The jet, with 115 passengers and crew onboard, exited the left side of Runway 34R (not the right, as was initially reported) and skidded some 2,000 feet along the ground before impacting a roadway berm. The jet's landing gear appears to have broken off upon impact with the berm, and the plane came to rest on its belly approximately 150 feet from the road.

A post-impact fire developed near the plane's right engine, which remained attached to the airframe. Cracks in the 737's fuselage apparently allowed flames to enter the cabin, but everyone onboard was able to escape from the port-side emergency exits. Fire crews were able to extinguish the flames within about 30 minutes.

Photos from the scene show the entire right side of the plane's fuselage charred, with some exterior panels melted away from the inner framework. The airliner's left engine detached from its pylon and appears to have been dragged underneath the wing, before coming to rest roughly parallel to the plane's nose. A large crack runs throughout the fuselage aft of the wing box, nearly splitting the fuselage into two sections.

Sumwalt said more information may be available at a follow-up conference, scheduled for 2100 MST. Stay tuned.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.continental.com