Residents hold vigil marking 35 years since Widefield Park plane crash killed 25 people

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Visitors gathered at Widefield Park on Tuesday to mark 35 years since a plane crashed, killing 25 people.

On March 3, 1991, United Airlines Flight 585 crashed during its approach to the Colorado Springs Airport (COS). Everyone aboard, 20 passengers and 5 crew members, died.

Some of the visitors to Tuesday's memorial included former Colorado Springs city employees, who were some of the first people on scene. 

"When I arrived here, amazingly, there was nothing recognizable as an aircraft," said David Zelenok, former director of transportation in Colorado Springs. "You see aircraft crash pictures on TV, and you see wings and landing gear and airplane parts. There was none of that was true here."

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the sudden change of course and crash was likely caused by a rudder malfunction.

"They train for it now," Rick Broome, a retired United mechanic, told KRDO13 back in 2021. "And they fixed the problem so that it'll never happen again in a 737. The solution was a complete redesign of the rudder's power control unit.

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