NTSB Investigating Accident Involving United Airlines Boeing 737-824 Near Denver
An accident record filed by the National Transportation Safety Board lists substantial damage to the aircraft; the cause has not been determined.
By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 7, 2026, 11:37 a.m. ET
This is a developing story. According to the National Transportation Safety Board accident record, an accident involving a occurred at about 10:24 p.m. local time on March 6, 2026, with Denver, Colorado listed as the nearest city. The record states the aircraft sustained substantial damage and classifies the flight as a Part 121 scheduled air carrier operation. The NTSB is investigating, and the cause has not been determined.
The accident record identifies the aircraft as and the operator as . It does not list injury counts, which is usual for a preliminary filing. Aircraft registry records describe as a , a twin-engine jet landplane with CFM International CFM56-series engines, serial number 28773, registered in the United States. The registry lists the registered owner as ; the owner of record is not necessarily the operator of the flight, the pilot, or otherwise connected to it.
Weather observations recorded at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC), 13.7 miles away and 31 minutes from the reported time, showed wind from 230 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear skies and a temperature of 27°F. Those are instrument readings, not a statement by anyone, and say nothing about what happened. Geographic reference data places the city of Denver at an elevation of 5,279 feet, 13 miles WNW of Buckley Space Force Base and 14 miles SSE of Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport; that locates the settlement and nothing finer.
As a matter of public record, the NTSB database lists five other cases involving the same operator since September 2025: a Boeing 787-9, N24972, at Los Angeles, California on March 2, 2026; an Airbus A320-232, N490UA, at Chicago, Illinois on November 29, 2025; an Embraer EMB-145XR, N21129, at Roanoke, Virginia on September 25, 2025; a , N39297, at Osaka, Japan on September 12, 2025; and a Boeing 777-222, N796UA, at Ezeiza on September 9, 2025. The database, which begins in 2008, also records eight other cases involving the type, of which none involved a fatality. Neither the operator history nor the type count says anything about the cause of this accident.
Background on the owner of record, drawn from published sources, describes United Airlines, Inc. as a major U.S. scheduled passenger airline founded in 1926 as Varney Air Lines and headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, operating about 1,100 aircraft to some 400 destinations with Denver among its hubs. The FAA oversees the company's air carrier certificate and repair station through a dedicated United Air Lines Certificate Management Office. That background says nothing about this accident. The investigation remains open.
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Reference data
From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.
Registration
N27213
Type
Boeing 737-824 — twin-engine jet landplane
Engines
CFM INTL. CFM56 SERIES
Registered owner
United Airlines IncThe owner of record is not necessarily the operator, the pilot, or otherwise connected to the flight.
Terrain elevation
5,279 ft
Nearest aerodrome
13 miles WNW of Buckley Space Force Base (KBKF/BFK)
Corrected the bearings between Denver and the nearby aerodromes to match the geographic reference data as given, and tightened the statement that the cause remains undetermined.
Version 15 Aug 2026, 16:42
First published.
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