Piper PA-32-260 accident near Broomfield, CO
On May 22, 2022, a Piper PA-32-260 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Broomfield, CO. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 22, 2022
- Place
- Broomfield, CO
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-260 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 39.996°N, 105.043°W
- NTSB ID
- 20220522105113
Official records · CEN22FA208
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 22, 2022, about 1149 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-32-260, N85CT, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Broomfield, Colorado. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) information, the airplane departed Erie Municipal Airport (EIK) on Runway 16. About 3,000 ft from the departure end of the runway, the airplane made a left turn, descended, and impacted terrain. Figure 1. Accident Flight Track with Recorded Altitude and Indicated Airspeed Two experienced pilots who lived along the airplane’s flight path reported hearing abnormal engine noises. The first pilot, who was located about 800 ft from the departure end of Runway 16, observed the airplane fly past about 50 to 100 ft above ground level (agl). About 5 seconds later, he heard several popping noises. The second pilot was located about 1,000 ft to the west of the accident site and reported hearing a “loud carburetor cough” followed a few seconds later by a “quieter carburetor cough.” Within 10 seconds, he heard the airplane impact the ground. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONA review of maintenance logs revealed an avionics upgrade was completed on February 4, 2022, that included installation of a Garmin G5 and Dynon primary flight/multi-function displays. The pilot-rated passenger assisted with the avionics installation. The airplane flew about 22 hours between the time the avionics were upgraded and the tim
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to abort the takeoff due to degraded engine performance. Contributing to the accident was the reduced performance of the engine, the reason for which could not be determined.
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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.