Cause of Fatal Jet Crash Still Eludes Probers
The National Transportation Safety Board on Friday reduced its team of investigators at the site of a plane crash that killed 25 people and said it still did not have a clue about what caused the crash.
United Airlines Flight 585 crashed Sunday when on a normal landing approach, plunging suddenly for unknown reasons and crashing nose first into a park three miles from the Colorado Springs airport runway. Twenty passengers and five crew members died.
The safety board said that about one-fourth of the 60 investigators on site will remain to reassemble the jet from wreckage and to continue gathering information.
Initial reports indicated that the airport had broadcast a wind-shear advisory moments before the 737 crashed.
John Lauber of the safety board expressed disappointment at not being able to focus on a single possible cause.
“All of us are disappointed we have not yet been able to converge on anything at this point,” he said.
“The first indication of any problem on the cockpit-voice recorder are some exclamations from both pilot crew members,” Lauber said.
The exclamations from pilot Hal Green and first officer Patricia Eidson provided no clues as to what might have happened, he said.
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