Beech 35-C33 accident near Lake City, CO
On May 31, 1992, a Beech 35-C33 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Lake City, CO. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 31, 1992
- Place
- Lake City, CO
- Aircraft
- Beech 35-C33 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 38.071°N, 107.299°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X14665
NTSB summary
On May 31, 1992, approximately 1600 mountain daylight time, a Beech 35-C33, N2742T, impacted mountainous terrain about 7 miles west of Lake City, Colorado. The non-instrument rated private pilot was fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. Weather documents indicate instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site. According to the pilot's wife, her husband departed Beckley, West Virginia, on the afternoon of May 30, and flew to the Kansas City, Missouri, area. He telephoned her and told her he would call her the following evening, and would probably be home on June 1. Witnesses observed N2742T land at Meadow Lake Airport in Falcon, Colorado, approximately 1300 on May 31, and the pilot refueled his airplane at a self-service pump. According to the Phillips 66 Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, the purchase was computer-recorded at 1306. Witnesses also watched the airplane depart approximately 1400, and turn towards the Colorado Springs, Colorado, Terminal Radar Service Area (TRSA). They said weather conditions were marginal, with snow mixed with rain northeast of the airport. The airplane was reported missing on June 3, 1992. A two week air search was conducted by the Civil Air Patrol to no avail. A hiker found the wreckage on September 5, 1994, at the south end of Copper Gulch at the 13,700 foot level of 14,309 foot Uncompahgre Peak. Although the three closest weather observation stations to the accident site (Telluride, 24 miles west; Montrose, 39 miles northwest; Gunnison, 40 miles northeast) were reporting visual meteorological condit
Probable cause
FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND HIS SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF AIRCRAFT CONTROL DUE TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF INSTRUMENT EXPERIENCE.
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Browse: Colorado · Beech aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
