Beech V35 accident near Lake George, CO
On May 3, 1997, a Beech V35 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Lake George, CO. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 3, 1997
- Place
- Lake George, CO
- Aircraft
- Beech V35 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 38.980°N, 105.371°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X07898
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 3, 1997, approximately 0900 mountain daylight time, a Beech V35, N831U, was destroyed when it collided with terrain during landing approach at Lake George, Colorado. The commercial pilot in command and airline transport pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight was filed for the personal flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Englewood, Colorado, on May 3, 1997, approximately 0800. The pilot's wife said that her husband had flown to Centennial Airport, where he picked up his son, who is also a pilot, and was returning to their ranch airstrip. She said her husband would normally call her on the radio and she would give him wind information. On this particular morning, he did not call but she heard the airplane approaching. Shortly thereafter, she heard a loud noise. Looking out the window, she saw smoke coming from the airstrip. She drove to the airstrip and found the airplane had crashed and was on fire. She returned to the house and telephoned 9-1-1 to report the accident. According to emergency personnel, the call was received at 0902. A witness driving towards Lake George about 1/2-mile north of the accident site saw the approaching airplane. He said the pilot was making a "steep" approach and the landing gear was down. He said it was "very windy, really blowing, about 50 knots," and the airplane's wings were "dipping." He said the wind had been so strong the night before, it made "the walls of my cabin rattle." The airplane then descended behind trees. The
Probable cause
The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain control of the airplane. A factor was the terrain-induced turbulence.
More accidents in CO
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-14, Nov 15, 1987
- Grumman Gulfstream III, Mar 30, 2001
- Beech 1900, Jan 28, 2026
- Douglas DC3, Mar 9, 2019
- Piper PA-31-350, Dec 3, 2014
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.
