Cessna P210N accident near Sheridan Lake, CO

On May 18, 2016, a Cessna P210N (airplane) was involved in an accident near Sheridan Lake, CO. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

May 18, 2016

Place

Sheridan Lake, CO

Aircraft

Cessna P210N · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

38.495°N, 102.290°W

NTSB ID

20160518X42840

Official records · CEN16FA188

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• Air Traffic Control Recording - Specialist's Study Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Pilot Radio Transmission: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• FAA ATC Accident Package (Excerpts): Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC Radar Display and Audio: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 18, 2016, about 0901 mountain daylight time, a Cessna P210N, N6609P, sustained substantial damage when it impacted a field in a flat spin about 4 miles northeast of Sheridan Lake, Colorado. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by Stubblefield Construction Company under the provisions of the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed at 0645 from Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport (RKS), Rock Springs, Wyoming, en route to Wiley Post Airport (PWA), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Earlier that morning, about 0222, the pilot departed Nampa Municipal Airport, Nampa, Idaho, and flew to RKS, where he landed the airplane about 0442. A witness at RKS reported that the pilot had the airplane topped off with 68 gallons of fuel. He reported that the pilot slept in the pilot's lounge for about 1 hour before departing toward PWA. After departing RKS, radar data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated that the airplane was flying on a southeast heading at 17,300 ft pressure altitude. About 0800, the pilot established visual flight rules flight following with the Denver, Colorado, Air Route Traffic Control Center, which provided the pilot with the current altimeter setting. A transcript of the communications between the accident airplane and an air traffic controller indicated that, at 0842:36, the pilot transmitted, "(unintelligible) I'm going down and I'm going

Probable cause

The pilot's severe impairment from the combined effects of high levels of ingested alcohol as well as three impairing medications (zolpidem, lorazepam, and diphenhydramine), which resulted in his decision to attempt an aerobatic maneuver that the airplane was not approved for.

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Browse: Colorado · Cessna aircraft

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.