Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On April 8, 2001, approximately 1410 mountain daylight time, a Sandell Zenith CH 200, N49DE, was destroyed when it impacted terrain southeast of runway 29 at Fremont County Airport, Canon City, Colorado. The commercial pilot and student pilot/passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Canon City approximately 1400.

The investigation revealed the student pilot/passenger had recently traded the airplane. The new owner had contracted with the commercial pilot to ferry the airplane back to Clarksville, Tennessee. The purpose of this flight was for the commercial pilot to familiarize himself with the airplane.

There were several witnesses to the accident. One witness observed the two pilots draining fuel from the fuel tank, and replacing it with 24.7 gallons of fresh 100LL fuel. He said the commercial pilot was seated in the left seat and the student pilot/passenger was seated in the right seat. He said the two pilots taxied to the end of runway 29 and made a high speed taxi down the runway. They then taxied back to the end of the runway and took off. He said the airplane accelerated slowly, then lifted off about halfway down the 5,400-foot runway. The airplane "appeared to pitch up, then the nose lowered to slightly above level attitude...[and climbed] at a very low climb angle." His attention was then diverted. When he next saw the airplane, it was on the downwind leg for runway 29 approximately 200 feet agl (above ground level; pattern altitude is 1,000 feet agl) and it "appeared to be flying very slowly." When the airplane was abeam the runway threshold, it "rolled to the left and dove inverted" into the ground.

The student pilot/passenger's wife also witnessed the accident but was too traumatized to be interviewed. According to a sheriff's department detective, she reported seeing the airplane bank left from downwind to base, and it "fluttered" and "shook" before diving to the ground.

Another witness described the takeoff as "poor." When the witness saw the airplane again, it was in a left spin.

The accident occurred during the hours of daylight at a location of 38 degrees, 25', 27.5" north latitude and 105 degrees, 05', 54" west longitude.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The left seat pilot, age 26, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single/multiengine land and instrument ratings, dated June 3, 1996; a flight instructor certificate with airplane single/multiengine and instrument ratings, dated June 6, 2000; and a ground instructor certificate with an advanced rating, dated June 7, 1996. He also held a second class airman medical certificate, dated September 20, 2000, with no restrictions or limitations. When the pilot applied for this medical certificate, he estimated he had accrued a total of 1,690 hours, of which 200 hours were logged in the previous 6