Cessna 340 accident near Englewood, CO
On March 24, 2002, a Cessna 340 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Englewood, CO. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 24, 2002
- Place
- Englewood, CO
- Aircraft
- Cessna 340 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.494°N, 104.868°W
- NTSB ID
- 20020329X00423
Official records · DEN02FA034
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 24, 2002, at 1631 mountain standard time, a Cessna 340, N341DM, was destroyed when it collided with terrain while on final approach to Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colorado. The airline transport pilot and his three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was being operated by Lear 171 Inc., of Billings, Montana, under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that originated from Gunnison, Colorado, at approximately 1545. The pilot was flying under an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The pilot called Denver Flight Service Station at 0818 to file a three-leg IFR flight plan from Denver, Colorado, to Aspen, Colorado, to Gunnison, Colorado, and return to Denver. The refueler at Centennial Airport said that he topped off the main (wing-tip) tanks with 62 gallons (approximately 31 gallons per side) at 1232. This would have given the pilot 100 gallons usable fuel total. The refueler said at 1250, the pilot requested that an additional 20 gallons of fuel be put in each auxiliary tank. The owner of the airplane said that the auxiliary fuel tanks, which had a 31.5 gallon capacity, were not used for every flight. He further stated that they normally left 2 to 5 gallons [an unknown amount] of "slosh" fuel in them to keep the rubber fuel bladders in good shape. The pilot departed Centennial Airport with approximately 140 gallons of fuel. The pilot flew to Aspen (96 nautical miles (nm)) and picked up his three passengers. He then departed for Gunnison (42 nm) where the passengers owned
Probable cause
the pilot not following procedures/directives (flying a landing approach with the left fuel selector in the auxiliary position). Contributing factors were the loss of the left engine power due to fuel starvation, the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, and the subsequent inadvertent stall into terrain.
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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.
