Cessna 175A accident near Erie, CO
On August 22, 1998, a Cessna 175A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Erie, CO. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 22, 1998
- Place
- Erie, CO
- Aircraft
- Cessna 175A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.020°N, 105.040°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X10834
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 22, 1998, approximately 1245 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 175A, N6874E, was destroyed on impact with terrain after takeoff from Tri-County Airport, Erie, Colorado. The private pilot and two of his passengers were fatally injured; a third passenger was seriously injured. The airplane was owned/operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight which was originating at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed. Family members reported that the pilot flew in from the Dallas, Texas, area the day before. They further stated that the pilot was taking two of his brothers and the one brother's girlfriend for a local sight-seeing flight at the time of the accident. Witnesses reported seeing the pilot at the auto fuel pumps refueling his airplane (records indicate that he purchased 21.4 gallons of auto fuel), and then taxi to runway 15 (elevation 5,130 feet; density altitude 8,185 feet). One witness stated that "I noted that the plane appeared to be full of people and idly thought that there were a lot of people in that small plane for a hot day." A witness reported that the airplane "seemed to go beyond the normal lift off area before becoming airborne, perhaps, 750 feet from the end of the runway." Several witnesses reported that the airplane got no higher than 50 feet to 100 feet in the air; they also said that it "wobbled and appeared to be going very slowly." One witness said that "it wasn't gaining altitude and was very flat in its path; it was wavering slightly
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain flying speed (above stall speed) and the subsequent stall/spin. Contributing factors were the tailwind, high density altitude, and aircraft overweight conditions.
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Browse: Colorado · Cessna 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.
