Lancair LC-40-550FG accident near Steamboat Spgns, CO
On October 23, 2005, a Lancair LC-40-550FG (airplane) was involved in an accident near Steamboat Spgns, CO. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 23, 2005
- Place
- Steamboat Spgns, CO
- Aircraft
- Lancair LC-40-550FG · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.351°N, 106.684°W
- NTSB ID
- 20051027X01745
Official records · DEN06FA010
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Control Transcripts: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 22, 2005, at 1927 mountain daylight time (MDT), a Lancair LC-40-550FG, N101HK, operated by Kittyhawk Partners LLC., and piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed when it impacted terrain 10 miles east of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The private pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. The cross-country flight departed Burlington (BRL), Iowa, 1421 MDT (1521 central daylight time), and was en route to Bob Adams Field, Steamboat Springs (SBS), Colorado. According to the pilot's family, he had departed an airport on the east coast the morning of the accident, and had stopped in BRL due to weather. The pilot called the Kankakee Automated Flight Service Station at 1446 MDT, obtained a weather briefing, and filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The pilot departed BRL, and climbed to an initial altitude of 12,000 feet mean seal level (msl). While en route, the pilot contacted Flight Watch on two separate occasions to obtain an update on the forecasted winds aloft, en route weather, and weather at his destination. At 1832 MDT, the pilot contacted the Denver Center controller, requested, and was cleared to an altitude of 16,000 feet msl. At 1912 MDT, the pilot cancelled his IFR flight plan and stated he was going to descend to 14,000 msl with visual flight rules (VFR) radar flight following services from Denver Center. At 1920 MDT the pilot cancelled his
Probable cause
the pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain. Contributing factors include the pilot's lack of recent experience, the pilot's improper in-flight planning and decision making, the dark night and the mountainous terrain.
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Browse: Colorado · Lancair 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.
