Boeing 737-201 N217US
4 May 1997 · Denver, Colorado, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 4 May 1997 at about 19:25 local time, a Boeing 737-201 registered N217US, operated by Frontier Airlines, Inc., was involved in an accident near Denver, Colorado, United States. 97 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 19:25
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- Nearest airport
- Denver International (DEN)
- Coordinates
- 39.8509, -104.6997
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-201
- Registration
- N217US
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Frontier Airlines, Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Unknown → Minneapolis
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- FTW97LA177
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 96 |
Probable cause
The flight attendant's failure to assure that the jetway was placed in the proper position prior to opening the forward cabin entry door.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
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.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Boeing 737 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Dec 1997 | Boeing 737-522 | Eugene, Oregon, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 17 Apr 1997 | Boeing 737-300 | Colorado Spgs, Colorado, United States | Western Pacific | No injuries | - |
| 11 May 1997 | Boeing 737-524 | Corpus Christi, Texas, United States | Continental Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 27 Sep 1997 | Boeing 737-3T0 | Seattle, Washington, United States | Continental Airlines | No injuries | - |
| 24 Sep 1997 | Boeing 737-200RS | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | Frontier Airlines, Inc. | Minor injuries | - |
| 8 May 1997 | Boeing 737-300 | Shenzhen, China | China Southern Airlines | Fatal | 35 |
All 1,317 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Jun 1997 | Piper PA-32-300T | Del Norte, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 1997 | Piper PA-28-140 | Leadville, Colorado, United States | Michael S. Luther | Minor injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 1997 | Rans S-12 Airaile S-12 | Fort Collins, Colorado, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 1997 | Cessna 305A | Watkins, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 1997 | Cessna 210 | Peyton, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jul 1997 | Let BLANIK L-13 | Pagosa Springs, Colorado, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |