The FAA has paid millions of dollars worth of settlements to 65 people who were on a Continental Airlines Boeing 737 that was blown off a runway at Denver International Airport on Dec. 21, 2008. KMGH-TV reported that the agency was facing a lawsuit for its role in the accident, in which several people were severely injured but no one was killed. The NTSB report said controllers failed to warn the pilots of 40-knot crosswind gusts before they took off. The aircraft captain was among those who accepted a settlement from the FAA.
The NTSB report also blamed the captain for not using rudder to counteract the crosswind. Many of those who sued the FAA had already received a settlement from the airline. The aircraft ended up on fire in a ravine next to the runway. The NTSB credited the work of the flight attendants in evacuating the aircraft for the fact that everyone survived. The board was also critical of the crosswind training received by pilots, noting the simulator-based training couldn't properly duplicate actual crosswind conditions.
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