Piper PA 28R-201 accident near Steamboat Springs, CO
On August 9, 2014, a Piper PA 28R-201 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Steamboat Springs, CO. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 9, 2014
- Place
- Steamboat Springs, CO
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 28R-201 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 40.341°N, 106.713°W
- NTSB ID
- 20140810X90209
Official records · CEN14FA414
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 9, 2014, about 1200 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA 28R-201 airplane, N3509M, impacted mountainous terrain southeast of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to VSP Aviators LLC and operated by Journeys Aviation Flying Club under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed. The cross country flight originated from the Steamboat Springs Airport (SBS), Steamboat Springs, Colorado, about 1145 and was en route to the Boulder Municipal Airport (BDU), Boulder, Colorado. An Alert Notice (ALNOT) was issued at 1720 when the flight was overdue. A search for the airplane was initiated and the wreckage was located at 2146 in a mountain valley about 12 miles southeast of SBS. Email correspondence between the private pilot and the flight instructor revealed that the intended route of flight for the day was from BDU, to Eagle, Colorado (EGE), to Glenwood Springs, Colorado (GWS), to EGE, to SBS, and terminating at BDU. The flight instructor was providing instruction to the private pilot to complete a mountain flying training course. The final leg of the flight was intended to start at SBS, continue over Milner Pass and finish at BDU; the exact route of flight was not discussed. According to local pilots, when flying over the mountains from SBS, a popular place to fly over is Rabbit Ears Pass because of
Probable cause
The pilot’s inability to maintain a climb while attempting to cross over a mountain pass in high-density altitude conditions that degraded the airplane’s climb performance. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to attempt the flight in mountainous terrain and to enter the pass in such a way that an escape maneuver was not possible.
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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.
