Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 5, 2015, at 1647 mountain daylight time, a Morse Rebel experimental amateur-built airplane, N914FM, impacted a hangar and parking ramp at the Eagle Regional Airport (EGE), Eagle, Colorado. The commercial pilot was fatally injured and the passenger was seriously injured. There were no ground injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. 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, cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was being operated without a flight plan.

GPS data recovered from an avionic device found in the wreckage recorded three flights on the day of the accident. The first flight data began at 08:11:12 in south-central Minnesota. Enroute stops were recorded from 09:25-09:50 at Martin Field Airport (7K8), Iowa, and from 12:57-13:40 at Holyoke Airport (HEQ), Colorado. The flightpath tracked from HEQ to the West-Northwest before turning southwest near Walden, Colorado, towards EGE.

The airplane flew a visual approach to land on runway 25 at EGE. During the approach the tower controller provided the pilot the current wind direction and velocity of 220 degrees at 21 knots, gusting to 26 knots. A witness observed the airplane very near to the runway during landing when "the wind caught [the airplane]". The airplane climbed away from the runway and completed an approximately 180 degree, rapid left turn. The airplane's flight path overflew the airport parking ramp on an easterly heading, mostly wings level, and in a slightly nose high attitude until just before it impacted the west face of hanger number four on the airport property. Before impact, the airplane began a left descending roll and hit the hanger in a left bank of about 75 degrees and approximately thirty-five feet above the ground. The airplane subsequently fell to the parking ramp and came to rest inverted. First responders told investigators it was not raining when they first reached the airplane, but it started raining within a few minutes of their arrival.

Security camera footage captured portions of the accident flight, and the footage confirmed the witness reports. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot, age 68, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane multi-engine land, airplane single-engine sea, and instrument airplane. The pilot also held a mechanic – airframe and powerplant certificate. The pilot's current pilot log book was not located; however, a pilot log book was located with the last entries dated September 2, 2011. As of that date, the pilot had logged a total of 2,536.5 hours. The pilot's last 3rd class airman's medical certificate was dated February 4, 2013. The pilot claimed 3,000 total flight hours and 50 flight hours in the past 6 months on that application. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe single engine, high wing, two-seat, fixed gear airplane, s