Slaybaugh MUSTANG II accident near Crested Butte, CO
On July 28, 1996, a Slaybaugh MUSTANG II (airplane) was involved in an accident near Crested Butte, CO. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 28, 1996
- Place
- Crested Butte, CO
- Aircraft
- Slaybaugh MUSTANG II · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 38.870°N, 106.981°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X06208
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 28, 1996, at 1408 mountain daylight time, a Slaybaugh Mustang II, N16WY, was destroyed when it impacted terrain while descending at Crested Butte, Colorado, The commercial pilot (a USAF instructor pilot) and his passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Gunnison, Colorado, on July 28 approximately 1330. The accident airplane and another airplane, a Long EZ (also flown by a USAF instructor pilot), were participating in Crested Butte's 22nd annual Aerial Weekend. According to the Long EZ pilot, they were flying abeam of each other over the town at 1200 to 1300 feet agl. The maneuver they were performing was described as a converging turn --- the Long EZ climbing and turning left and the Mustang II climbing and turning right --- with the intention of rejoining. Prior to starting the maneuver, the Mustang II pilot said, "I don't have enough room, hold on a sec." The Long EZ pilot said he interpreted this remark to mean his wingman was too close to a mountain to the south to make a right turn. Shortly thereafter, the Mustang II pilot reported he was ready and the two pilots commenced the maneuver. The Long EZ pilot said that as he completed 45 degrees of the turn, he saw the Mustang II "in what seemed to be 120-135 degrees of left bank" and "approximately 80 degrees nose low" attitude. He lost sight of the airplane momentarily and when he saw it again, the airplane had "approximately 20-30 degrees of left
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. A factor was the inadequatete altitude in which to effect a safe recovery.
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Browse: Colorado
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
