Cessna 421B accident near Telluride, CO
On January 2, 2000, a Cessna 421B (airplane) was involved in an accident near Telluride, CO. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- January 2, 2000
- Place
- Telluride, CO
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421B · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 37.940°N, 107.900°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X20344
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 2, 2000, at approximately 0950 mountain standard time, a Cessna 421B, N421CF, was destroyed following impact with terrain near Telluride, Colorado. The non-instrument rated private pilot, the sole occupant in the airplane, was fatally injured. The airplane was being operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country personal flight that originated from Montrose, Colorado, approximately 35 minutes before the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan; family members said the pilot was en route to Las Cruces, New Mexico. The family reported the pilot missing on January 4, and a search was commenced. Search and rescue team members located the airplane at approximately 1430 on January 6. There was approximately 18 to 24 inches of snow on the ground at the accident site. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar documented the airplane's departure from Montrose at approximately 0915 on January 2. At 0946:19, the airplane began a 1,792 feet per minute (fpm) rate of climb from 14,300 feet msl to 16,600 feet msl. The radar shows that 19 seconds later, the airplane lost 4,000 feet of altitude, or 12,631 fpm rate of descent. The airplane then climbed back to 13,300 feet msl at a rate of 1,448 fpm. One more primary radar return was recorded at 0948:34 (no altitude was documented), and then the airplane disappeared from radar. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot's old flight logbook (his current logbook was never found) indicated that he received his private pilot license on March 19, 19
Probable cause
The non-instrument rated pilot's intentional flight into IMC, and his subsequent spatial disorientation that resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor was the snow showers weather condition.
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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.
