Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On January 2, 2000, at approximately 0950 mountain standard time, a Cessna 421B, N421CF, was destroyed following impact with terrain near Telluride, Colorado. The non-instrument rated private pilot, the sole occupant in the airplane, was fatally injured. The airplane was being operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country personal flight that originated from Montrose, Colorado, approximately 35 minutes before the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan; family members said the pilot was en route to Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The family reported the pilot missing on January 4, and a search was commenced. Search and rescue team members located the airplane at approximately 1430 on January 6. There was approximately 18 to 24 inches of snow on the ground at the accident site.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar documented the airplane's departure from Montrose at approximately 0915 on January 2. At 0946:19, the airplane began a 1,792 feet per minute (fpm) rate of climb from 14,300 feet msl to 16,600 feet msl. The radar shows that 19 seconds later, the airplane lost 4,000 feet of altitude, or 12,631 fpm rate of descent. The airplane then climbed back to 13,300 feet msl at a rate of 1,448 fpm. One more primary radar return was recorded at 0948:34 (no altitude was documented), and then the airplane disappeared from radar.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot's old flight logbook (his current logbook was never found) indicated that he received his private pilot license on March 19, 1970. The pilot purchased N421CF in November of 1998, and he attended a Cessna 421B ground and flight training school, Double Eagle Aviation, Tucson, Arizona, in January of 1999. On his application for the school, he reported that he had 1,500 hours of single-engine flight time, and 1,500 hours of multiengine flight time. Instructors at the school reported that the pilot had good natural flying skills and was a quick learner. They did report that he was "somewhat weak with instrument reference."

The pilot reported on an insurance application, on December 11, 1999, that he had 3,700 hours of flight experience, and 200 hours of flight experience in N421CF. The pilot's last FAA medical certificate was dated March 31, 1999. The pilot did not have an instrument rating.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The airplane was a twin engine, propeller-driven, pressurized aircraft, which was manufactured in 1974 by Cessna Aircraft Company. It could seat eight people. The airplane was powered by two Teledyne Continental GTSIO-520-H turbocharged, six cylinder, reciprocating, horizontally opposed, fuel injected engines which had a maximum takeoff rating of 375 horsepower at sea level. The last annual inspection was performed in Montrose, Colorado, on May 11, 1999. At the time of the accident, the aircraft maintenance records and hour meter suggest that the airframe had accumulat