United Airlines Flight 585

United Airlines Flight 585

A United Airlines Boeing 737-200 Advanced similar to the one involved.
Accident summary
Date	March 3, 1991
Summary	Rudder hardover
Site	Widefield Park, El Paso County near Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Passengers	20
Crew	5
Fatalities	25 (all)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-291
Operator	United Airlines
Registration	N999UA
Flight origin	Greater Peoria Regional Airport
Last stopover	Stapleton International Airport
Destination	Colorado Springs Municipal Airport

United Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled passenger flight on March 3, 1991 from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado, carrying 20 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane experienced a rudder hardover while on final approach to runway 35 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, causing the plane to roll over and enter an uncontrolled dive. There were no survivors.

The NTSB was initially unable to resolve the cause of the crash, but after similar accidents and incidents involving Boeing 737 aircraft, the crash was determined to be caused by a defect in the design of the 737's rudder power control unit (PCU).

On March 3, 1991, Flight 585 was operated using a Boeing 737-291, registered N999UA. The 737 was originally manufactured for Frontier Airlines in 1982, and purchased by United Airlines in 1986. On the date of the accident, the aircraft had accumulated 26,050 flight hours.

The flight crew consisted of Captain Harold Green, 52, First Officer Patricia Eidson, 42, and Flight Attendants Lisa Church, Anita Lucero, and Monica Smiley. The captain, who had over 9,900 hours as a United Airlines pilot, was regarded by colleagues as a conservative pilot who always followed standard operating procedures. The first officer had accumulated over 3,900 flight hours, and Captain Green considered her to be a very competent pilot.

Flight 585 was a regularly scheduled United Airlines Flight from General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport in Peoria, Illinois to Colorado Springs, Colorado, making intermediate stops at Quad City International Airport in Moline, Illinois and the now-decommissioned Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. On March 3, 1991, the flight operated from Peoria to Denver without incident.