Piper PA-31-350 accident near Pagosa Springs, CO
On September 24, 2001, a Piper PA-31-350 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Pagosa Springs, CO. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 24, 2001
- Place
- Pagosa Springs, CO
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 37.495°N, 107.350°W
- NTSB ID
- 20011005X02045
Official records · DEN01FA161
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 24, 2001, at 0904 mountain daylight time, a PA-31-350, N161RB, was destroyed following impact with terrain while maneuvering near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The two commercial pilots received fatal injuries. Key Lime Air of Denver, Colorado, was operating the on demand domestic cargo flight under 14 CFR Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that originated from Alamosa, Colorado, 24 minutes before the accident. A visual flight rules flight plan (VFR) had been filed, with Durango, Colorado, as its destination, but it was never activated. The operator said that the airplane was scheduled to depart Centennial Airport in Denver, Colorado (on its first flight of the day) at 0715. Denver Flight Service Station (FSS) reported that the pilot-in-command (PIC) had filed two VFR flight planes; one from Centennial Airport for 0715; and later, a second from Alamosa, Colorado, at 0815. Neither of them were opened. Fixed base operator (FBO) personnel at Alamosa, Colorado, reported the airplane departed for Durango, Colorado, at approximately 0840. The operator reported the aircraft was overdue at its destination, and an alert notice (ALNOT) was issued by the Denver FSS. The United States Forest Service (USFS) dispatch received a report of smoke and a potential forest fire at 0904. Upon investigation, USFS personnel discovered the airplane's wreckage. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The PIC started working for the operator on February 21, 2001. His college degree was in Aviation Maintenance Management. He was an instrument rat
Probable cause
the flight crews' intentional low altitude flight, and failure to maintain obstacle clearance.
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Browse: Colorado · Piper 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.
