Piper PA 28-235 accident near Georgetown, CO
On June 30, 2014, a Piper PA 28-235 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Georgetown, CO. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 30, 2014
- Place
- Georgetown, CO
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 28-235 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.710°N, 105.689°W
- NTSB ID
- 20140630X24850
Official records · CEN14FA328
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 30, 2014 about 0849 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28-235, N8814W, impacted mountainous terrain at the Loveland Ski Area near Georgetown, Colorado. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed, and a postimpact fire occurred. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight which operated without a flight plan. The flight originated from the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC), Broomfield, Colorado, at 0810 and was en route to Moab, Utah. A customer service manager at the fixed base operator (FBO) reported the pilot in preparing for the flight was looking for information on how to get over the mountains. At that time, there was no one at the FBO who could provide him information on mountain flying, and there was no posted information available. She later heard that the pilot planned to takeoff VFR and fly through the mountains along the interstate. A line technician reported that he met the airplane when it arrived at BJC on June 27. The line technician helped the pilot and his family with their luggage and drove them to an awaiting family car. Before they left, the pilot did a walk-around inspection of the airplane. When the line technician arrived at the airport on June 30, the pilot had already loaded the airplane. The pilot said they were going to Moab, Utah and planned to stay there a couple of days. Then they were going to fly to the Grand Canyon and spe
Probable cause
The pilot’s inability to maintain a climb while maneuvering the airplane in high-density altitude conditions that degraded the airplane’s climb performance and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle-of-attack, which led to an aerodynamic stall and loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate preflight planning and his decision to fly into mountainous terrain.
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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.
