Cessna R182 accident near Thornton, CO
On June 29, 2011, a Cessna R182 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Thornton, CO. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- June 29, 2011
- Place
- Thornton, CO
- Aircraft
- Cessna R182 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 39.919°N, 104.903°W
- NTSB ID
- 20110629X13238
Official records · CEN11FA428
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 29, 2011, at 1523 mountain daylight time, a Cessna R182, N2344C, impacted an open field in Thornton, Colorado. The commercial pilot, the sole person on board the airplane, was fatally injured. A post impact fire ensued and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to Julair, LLC, doing business as All American Aerials, Incorporated, and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a business flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight which was being operated without a flight plan. The flight departed Front Range Airport (FTG), Watkins, Colorado, approximately 1425. The pilot's wife said she spoke with him by telephone just before he took off. She said that the he told her that he was going to go up and "shoot a couple of thousand pictures." She said that he voiced no concerns abbout the weather or how his airplane was performing. Approach control radar recorded a track depicting a Visual Flight Rules 1200 code at the time and in the area where the airplane would have been. The radar track showed the airplane come out of FTG (elevation 5,516 feet), fly up to the Thornton area, and begin a series of turns. The airplane was operating at an altitude between 5,800 to 6,300 feet mean sea level (msl) and a groundspeed of approximately 110 knots. A review of radar information for the last 8 minutes of the flight, showed the airplane maneuvering just south of the E-470 toll way 2.23 miles northeast of the accident site at an altitude of 6,000 feet msl. The airp
Probable cause
The pilot's inadvertent encounter with a microburst while operating at a low altitude, which resulted in a loss of control from which the pilot could not recover. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate preflight planning for the forecasted severe weather 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.