What happened
On November 16, 1976, a Texas International flight operating as a scheduled service from Salt Lake City to Houston, via Denver, was preparing for departure from Stapleton International Airport. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14, registered N9104, was carrying 81 passengers and 5 crew members. During the takeoff roll on runway 8R, the flight crew experienced an unexpected activation of the stickshaker system while the aircraft was rotating.
As the first officer initiated rotation to a pitch of approximately 10 degrees, the stall warning system activated continuously. Despite the airspeed being well above V1 and V2, the aircraft failed to lift off the runway. Both the captain and the first officer attempted to abort the takeoff. During the deceleration process, the crew applied maximum braking and reverse thrust; however, the ground spoilers failed to deploy. The pilot steered the aircraft toward the right side of the runway to avoid approach light structures.
The aircraft eventually left the paved surface, traveling an additional 1,050 feet across two drainage ditches and striking approach light stanchions before coming to a halt. There were 0 fatalities and 0 injuries among the 86 occupants, though the aircraft was destroyed in the accident.
Findings
Investigation into the event determined that the primary cause was a malfunction of the stall warning system, which triggered a false alert during the takeoff roll. This unexpected warning led the crew to decide to reject the takeoff after the aircraft had already surpassed both the decision speed (V1) and rotation speed (VR). While rejecting the takeoff at such high speeds was inconsistent with standard operating procedures, investigators concluded the decision was reasonable given the suddenness of the stall warning and the perceived risk of a catastrophic failure.