Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn November 9, 2015, about 1052 mountain standard time, a Cirrus Design Corporation SR22 airplane, N752C, was destroyed when it impacted terrain north of the City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), Colorado Springs, Colorado. A postimpact fire ensued. The private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to Linkup Aviation LLC. and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan. The personal flight was originating at the time of the accident and was en route to Northwest Regional Airport (52F), Roanoke, Texas.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control transcripts, the accident airplane contacted COS ground control at 1046:41, reported that they were ready to taxi, and requested an intersection departure from taxiway A3. The controller responded "…fly runway heading maintain v f r at or below eight thousand five hundred…" and provided the departure control frequency and transponder setting. The pilot responded "alright we'll maintain eight thousand or below and ah departure is one two four." The controller cleared the pilot to taxi to runway 35L via A3.

At 1050:12, the pilot reported to COS air traffic control tower that he was holding short of runway 35L at alpha three and was ready for departure. The controller cleared the pilot for takeoff and later instructed the pilot to fly runway heading. At 1051:44, the pilot reported to the controller that he was "having engine problems we'd like to turn around." The controller instructed the pilot to enter a left downwind for runway 35L. No other transmissions were recorded from the airplane.

One witness described hearing the engine surge during the takeoff. A second witness watched the airplane take off from the intersection. When he looked back toward the airplane, he expected the airplane to be airborne; however, the airplane was still on the ground. He estimated that the airplane was on the ground for several thousand ft before it became airborne and was between 100 and 150 ft above the ground when it passed him. He did not report hearing anything abnormal. A third witness on the ramp witnessed the takeoff and did not hear any unusual sounds from the engine. A fourth witness observed the airplane in a steep bank at the end of the runway but did not witness the accident. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot, age 63, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single engine land and instrument airplane ratings. He was issued a third class medical certificate on November 4, 2013. The certificate contained the limitation "Not valid for night flying or by color signal control. Must wear corrective lenses."

Remains of a Taxlog Tax record flight log were found adjacent to the main wreckage. The start date on the first page of the log could not be determined due to fire d