Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 6, 2023, at an unknown time, a Piper PA-60-601P airplane, N100PB, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Burlington, Colorado. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

Video surveillance at the Kit Carson County Airport (ITR), Burlington, Colorado, showed the airplane depart the runway about 1330 mountain daylight time. A review of air traffic control (ATC) communications and radar data revealed that the pilot was not in contact with ATC, and there were no radar returns for any aircraft flying in the vicinity of ITR around the time of the accident. A review of ADS-B data sources did not reveal any track data for the flight. There were no witnesses to the accident, and the actual time of the accident could not be determined.

The airplane impacted a fallow cornfield about 11.8 nautical miles (nm) southwest of the departure airport.

In a conversation between the accident pilot, the airport manager, and another pilot, the accident pilot stated that he had a problem with both GPS’s; otherwise, he said that he would file IFR (instrument flight rules) but instead he had to go VFR (visual flight rules). Later, he was asked where he was headed, and he replied, “about as far west as you can get.” PERSONNEL INFORMATIONA pilot logbook was not recovered; however, on the pilot’s last application for an FAA medical certificate, he reported his total flight experience of 20,000 hours and 150 hours in the last 6 months. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONMaintenance records were not located for the airplane.
The airplane’s total fuel capacity was 173.5 gallons (165.5 gallons usable); the airplane was equipped with two wing fuel tanks and a fuselage tank. According to fuel receipts, the pilot serviced the airplane with 113.4 gallons of 100 low-lead aviation fuel from the self-serve pumps at ITR before the airplane departed on the flight. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe accident occurred near Burlington, Colorado, at a field elevation of about 4,275 ft msl. The meteorological investigation was conducted using official National Weather Service (NWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data sources.
A surface analysis chart valid at 1200 MDT showed the accident site positioned between a 1023-hectopascals (hPa) high pressure system over Iowa with a ridge extending southwestward over Kansas and a 1018-hPa bubble high over central Colorado. A trough was located between the two high pressure systems extending over eastern Colorado and western Kansas. Wind near the surface were generally from the southeast at 10 knots. Several reporting stations in eastern Colorado, including Burlington (KITR), indicated mist, low visibility, and overcast or obscured skies throughout the morning, with a gradual lifting trend into marginal visual flight rules (MVFR) conditions by early afternoon.
The closest official weather reporting station was Kit Carson