Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On September 30, 2000, at approximately 1405 mountain daylight time, a Sukhoi SU-26MX, N26KP, was destroyed during impact with terrain following a loss of control while maneuvering at the Telluride Regional Airport, Telluride, Colorado. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant in the airplane, was fatally injured. The pilot was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local aerobatic flight that was originating at the time of the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan.

According to the Telluride airport manager, the airplane was scheduled to perform aerobatics, in a local air show, after a flight of T-28s completed several fly-bys. He said that the pilot started his engine "early," and was requesting clearance for departure before the T-28s had finished. The pilot said that he needed to get airborne because his engine was getting hot. The airport manager said that a United Express flight was also requesting a departure. The airport manager instructed the T-28s to land, and he then gave the airplane clearance to takeoff. The airport manager said that the airplane was instructed to fly to a holding area, clear of the airport traffic area. He was then planning to clear the United Express flight for departure.

The airport manager said that the airplane flew level down the runway at 75 to 100 feet, and was generating show smoke. He said that at approximately mid field, the airplane "popped up to near vertical." At approximately 500 feet, the airplane began to tumble, and then to spin until it impacted the terrain.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot received his initial flight training in the military, and served on active duty for 8 years. According to his FAA medical application, dated August 28, 2000, he had accumulated approximately 2,000 hours of flight experience.

Several of the pilot's friends said that the pilot had purchased the airplane with the intention of performing aerobatics on the national air show circuit. They further stated that he had spent a great deal of time modifying the airplane to facilitate achieving that goal.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The airplane was a single engine, propeller-driven aircraft, which was manufactured in 1990 by Sukhoi Aircraft Company, in Russia. It was a single seat aerobatic (plus 12 G's; minus 10 G's) airplane that was powered by a Vendenyev M-14 supercharged, nine cylinder, round-reciprocating, fuel injected engine. The original engine was 360 horsepower, but it had been modified with new pistons (its compression ratio had been changed from 6:1 to 10:1) to produce 525 horsepower. The last annual inspection was performed in Grand Junction, Colorado, on September 18, 2000. The mechanic who performed the last inspection said that at the time of the inspection, the airplane had approximately 520 hours of flight time.

The pilot had a newly certified Zvezda SKS (Russian) ejection seat installed in the