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History

Prewar and wartime years (1929–1945)

Postwar years (1945–1978)

Post-deregulation (1978–1985)

Decommissioning (1985–1995)

• inadequate lateral separation between runways, leading to long waits during instrument-flight operations
• little or no room for other airlines that wanted to use Stapleton for new destinations (one such example was Southwest Airlines, now a large carrier at Denver International Airport)
• a lawsuit over aircraft noise, brought by residents of the nearby Park Hill community
• legal threats by Adams County, to block a runway extension into Rocky Mountain Arsenal lands

Post-closure redevelopment

Facilities

• 17R/35L (11,500 ft), concrete
• 17L/35R (12,000 ft), concrete
• 8L/26R (8,599 ft), concrete
• 8R/26L (10,004 ft), concrete
• 7/25 (4,871 ft), concrete
• 18/36 (7,750 ft), asphalt

• Concourse A – Commuter flights, Mesa Air Group, United Airlines
• Concourse B – United Airlines
• Concourse C – Continental Airlines, Mexicana, Martinair, Condor
• Concourse D – Continental Express, Delta Air Lines, MarkAir, Pan Am, Trans World Airlines, Frontier Airlines,
• Concourse E – America West Airlines, American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Sun Country, USAir

Accidents and incidents

• On November 1, 1955, United Air Lines Flight 629 was blown up over Longmont shortly after takeoff from Stapleton while en route to Portland. Jack Gilbert Graham planted a bomb on the plane to kill his mother. He purchased travel insurance before the flight took off.WEB,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150215232408weblink">weblink 2015-02-15, FBI — Jack Gilbert Graham,
• On July 11, 1961, United Airlines Flight 859, a DC-8-12 (tail number N8040U), veered off the runway on landing. Asymmetric reverse thrust on engines 1 and 2 (left wing) resulted in a loss of directional control, causing the aircraft to collide with construction equipment, killing the driver of one vehicle. In the ensuing fire, 17 of the DC-8's 122 occupants died.WEB, ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-8-12 N8040U Denver-Stapleton International Airport, CO (DEN),weblink Aviation Safety Network, 24 February 2020,
• On December 21, 1967, Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) Flight 2610, a Douglas C-47 converted to carry cargo, crashed after takeoff due to the failure of the crew to perform a pre-takeoff control check resulting in takeoff with the elevators immobilized by a control batten. Both occupants were killed.{{ASN accident|id=19671221-0|accessdate=August 5, 2021|title=N65276}}
• On August 7, 1975, Continental Airlines Flight 426, a Boeing 727 bound for Wichita, Kansas, crashed after encountering windshear on takeoff on runway 35L after climbing to {{convert|100|ft|m}}. Nobody was killed in the accident.WEB, Aviation Accident Report AAR-76-14,weblink National Transportation Safety Board, 24 February 2020,
• On November 16, 1976, a Texas International DC-9-10 stalled after takeoff at Stapleton and crashed. There were 14 injuries among the 81 passengers and 5 crewmembers.WEB, NTSB-AAR-77-10,weblink Aviation Safety Network, 24 February 2020,
• On November 15, 1987, Continental Airlines Flight 1713, a DC-9-14 bound for Boise, Idaho, crashed on takeoff at Stapleton during a snowstorm. The probable cause of the crash was loss of control due to ice and snow adhering to the aircraft. The aircraft had been de-iced, but spent longer than normal on the ground in moderate snowfall before takeoff due to confusion about its location. This aircraft accident led to significant changes in aircraft de-icing fluids and flight crew procedures for checking for ice contamination prior to takeoff. Twenty-eight of the plane's 82 occupants were killed.WEB, Aviation Accident Report AAR-88-09,weblink National Transportation Safety Board, 24 February 2020,
• On September 17, 1988, Continental Express Flight 2063, a Beechcraft 1900 turboprop under the control of Captain Orlando Zullo, made a wheels-up landing. The flight was bound for North Platte when hydraulic issues arose, forcing the aircraft to return to Stapleton. Stapleton spokesman Richard Boulware was quoted as saying, "It was a perfect landing, the propellers stopped turning when the aircraft was about four feet above the runway," and that "the aircraft came to rest exactly on the center line of the runway." Despite the runway not being prepped for the landing with foam, there were no injuries, and the aircraft was operational within a week. The landing gear failed due to an error in the manufacturing process.WEB,weblink Colorado Springs Gazette Archives, Sep 17, 1988, p. 20, newspaperarchive.com, 17 September 1988, 6 August 2019,

See also

References

External links

• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20020815015245weblink">Airport history
• Stapleton Airport Photographs
• Airport diagrams: 1938, 1956, and 1959