Socata TB21 accident near Silverton, CO
On December 3, 2011, a Socata TB21 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Silverton, CO. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 3, 2011
- Place
- Silverton, CO
- Aircraft
- Socata TB21 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 37.827°N, 107.675°W
- NTSB ID
- 20111204X10458
Official records · CEN12FA098
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 3, 2011, about 1335 mountain standard time (MST), a Socata TB21 airplane, N25153, collided with terrain near Silverton, Colorado. The non-instrument rated private pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed and a flight plan had not been filed for the cross-country flight. The flight had departed the Animas Air Park Airport (00C), Durango, Colorado, at 1319 and was en route to the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (ASE), Aspen, Colorado. A review of air traffic control (ATC) recordings revealed that the pilot contacted ATC while at flight level 200 (about 20,000 feet) and 12 miles southeast of Telluride, Colorado. The pilot requested visual flight rules (VFR) flight following to ASE, and reported that he could not descend below his altitude and maintain VFR. Moments later, the airplane disappeared from radar and contact with the pilot was lost. There were no reported distress calls from the pilot. There were numerous people in and near the town of Silverton who reported hearing the airplane; however, there were no reports of anyone seeing the airplane before impact. The witnesses described the weather as snowing with poor visibility. One witness reported that while cross-country skiing, he heard the airplane very clearly directly above him. The witness said it sounded like the airplane was doing aerobatics or tricks, and that it sounded like t
Probable cause
The non-instrument-rated pilot’s decision to embark on a flight through forecasted instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his subsequent flight into IMC, which resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and subsequent maneuvering of the airplane in a manner that exceeded the airplane’s structural limits.
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Browse: Colorado · Socata 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.
