United 585 Memorial

 On March 3, 1991, United Airlines Flight 585 lost control on final approach and crashed in Widefield Community Park, just south of Colorado Springs Airport. All 25 aboard, 20 passengers and 5 crew, perished.

What made this tragedy linger in mystery: the cause was not immediately clear. Initial investigations considered weather phenomena like low-altitude wind shear or a “wind rotor,” but no definitive fault was found. Ten years later, investigators concluded that a defect in the Boeing 737’s rudder power control unit (PCU) had allowed the rudder to deflect in the opposite direction of pilot input, what’s called a “hard-over”, making control unrecoverable.

The memorial at Widefield Community Park includes a seated shelter and a grove of 25 trees, one for each life lost, alongside a marker listing name. The crash also spurred safety changes: the FAA mandated redesigns of the 737 rudder system so that such a “reverse rudder” event would be far less likely in the future.