Violent wind patterns that often occur along the downwind side of the Rocky Mountains are being considered as a possible cause of the crash of United Airlines Flight 585.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board haven't pinpointed a likely cause of the March 3 crash that killed 25 people, but they are looking at reports of dramatically shifting wind near the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport as Flight 585 approached for landing, according to The Denver Post.The plane abruptly went into a dive and crashed nose-first into a park.
Experts are studying the possibility that a mountain occurrence known as a wind rotor - a whirlwind lying on its side - might have contributed to the disaster. A wind rotor can be formed as air blows across the Rockies and swirls down to the plains.