Two years after Continental Airlines flight 1713 crashed while on take-off at Denver's Stapleton International Airport killing 28 people, memories among survivors still are vivid and their hearts and minds still are healing.
And legal battles continue."I haven't found a way to put it out of my mind," said Dave Daniel, a Melba High School teacher, who lost his wife in the wreckage. "It's with me; it's a part of every day."
Fellow survivor Ken Watson has no such demons. The pounding he took in the Continental Airlines crash in Denver two years ago today has erased a full month from his consciousness.
"I don't have the grimness of the crash in my mind," the Nampa college administrator said, grateful for that small consolation.
As survivors struggle to heal bodies and minds, a liability tug-of-war drags on, possibly for years to come.
On Nov. 15, 1987, a Boise-bound DC-9 jetliner flipped and crashed shortly after takeoff at the busy Denver airport. There were five crew members and 77 passengers aboard, most from Idaho.
As the world would soon discover, a co-pilot with a questionable training record and only 36 hours of experience flying commercial aircraft was at the controls. Continental has since boosted its minimum-experience standards for pilots - the biggest reform to spring from the tragedy.
There will undoubtedly be tears shed - tears of joy for the 54 who lived, tears of sorrow for the 28 who perished.
"There's no doubt in my mind that the anniversary will be a very black day for many of them," said Denver attorney John Breit, who has handled many of the survivors' lawsuits.
Watson recently joined the majority of survivors in accepting a settlement offer from the airline's insurance carrier. Daniel is pressing one of approximately 15 remaining lawsuits.
The teacher is torn between wanting to put the disaster behind him and a burning desire to force Houston-based Continental and its deregulated competitors to implement extensive safety measures.
Last year at this time, survivors and their families assembled for a memorial service in a Boise church. No plans were made for a second observance, which some attribute to a yearning by survivors to get on with their lives.
Watson, 47, doesn't expect to dwell on what happened, although it has perhaps irrevocably altered his life.
Before boarding the plane, he was the academic head at Nampa's Northwest Nazarene College. His career outlook was bright. Then came the crash, serious head injuries and lengthy rehabilitation.
He returned to a new job at the college in January: assistant to the president. He's also teaching chemistry, but he finds his emotional energy level isn't what it used to be, and that is troubling.
"I was on a professional track, and I was knocked off that track," Watson said. "My mind got banged around, and it left me different."
Watson opted to settle his claims rather than go through "a public court session," and he concludes he was "reasonably satisfied with the process."
Daniel and his lawyer, David Comstock of Boise, admit to being exasperated by the legal meanderings.
"It's terribly frustrating that it takes so long to get anything accomplished," Daniel said. "It's really eye-opening to see how long the process takes. From a layman's perspective, it seems to be very inefficient."
Comstock said the case was the biggest of his career and the most frustrating.
"I'd say there was more frustration than gratification, watching what delays will do to people."
He is critical of the efficiency-minded multidistrict litigation process, which forced federal suits to consolidate in Colorado, and bound litigants to the bellwether trial of Boisean Karen Svea Johnson.
A six-member Denver jury decided in January that Johnson was not entitled to punitive damages. The technical writer, who lost an eye in the crash, sought millions of dollars and wound up with $800,000 in compensation.
The decision found the airlines guilty of "reckless misconduct" but innocent of gross negligence.
Plaintiff attorneys said the verdict was a blow to other survivors. Said Comstock, "They lost most of their steam; their emotional desire was drained from them."
U.S. District Judge Sherman Finesilver held that all but a few more recently filed cases were bound by Johnson's "exemplar" judgment, and thus could not seek punitive damages.