document: Local news reporters quoted witnesses as saying that the plane appeared to nosedive into the earth . The crash comes at a particularly sensitive time for the travel industry . Although it has always been difficult to measure the effect of crashes on travel , this accident comes just as people were starting to get over fears of terrorism related to the Persian Gulf war . Airlines have been slashing their flight schedules and laying off employees because of the downturn . Some travel agencies have gone to four-day workweeks . Most of the travel sector has resorted to sharp discounting to spark travel . This , in fact , may have been one reason why the load on the United flight was light . The jet , which can hold at least 100 passengers , carried 20 passengers and a crew of two pilots and three flight attendants . Yesterday 's marks the third crash of a United jet in the past three years . In July 1988 , a United DC-10 crashed in Sioux City , Iowa , after an engine broke apart in flight , killing 112 people . In February 1989 , the cargo door on United Boeing 747 burst open near Hawaii , tearing a gaping hole in the fuselage . Nine passengers died . About two hours before yesterday 's crash , the National Weather Service in Colorado Springs issued its first high wind warning for the area since January , according to James Hall , a meteorological technician observer in Colorado Springs . Moments after the crash , the average wind speed was 23 miles per hour , gusting to 32 mph , Mr. Hall said . `` When it 's gusty like that , the conditions are quite choppy . It would be like a turbulent river current . It 's essentially like water hitting rocks and splashing and foaming over . '' A Federal Aviation Administration official said , `` There were some reports of gusting winds but whether or not that had any impact or whether there was any kind of mechanical problem , I ca n't speculate . '' Another FAA official said that although it is too early to pinpoint the cause , `` wind shear would be a major area of investigation . '' If preliminary reports that there was wind shear in the area are true , then `` that would indicate there was some instability in the atmosphere , '' he added . Wind shear is a sudden , violent shift in wind direction . It can smash an airplane into the ground . However , he said that wind shear is most dangerous when an aircraft is flying at a very low altitude , either shortly before landing or right after takeoff . In Sunday 's crash , the jetliner was a few miles from the airport and so should have been at a somewhat higher altitude . The last major U.S. wind shear accident occurred in Dallas in 1985 , when a Delta Air Lines jet crashed on approach . Since then , the FAA and the industry have revamped pilot training on wind shear and have devoted considerable resources to dealing with the hazard . No buildings or structures on the ground were damaged by the crash , according to the El Paso County Sheriffs Department . An eight-year-old girl who was playing nearby , was treated for a head injury and released . The jet involved in the crash is almost nine years old . It was delivered in May 1982 to now-defunct Frontier Airlines . United acquired the plane in June 1986 . The plane was operated by an engine manufactured by United Technologies Corp. 's Pratt & Whitney division . -- Brett Pulley in Chicago contributed to this article .
extractive_keyphrases: third crash travel industry united flight colorado springs first high wind warning
abstractive_keyphrases: last major u.s. wind shear accident