Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On October 13, 2004, at 0738 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182R, N9437H, owned by Cambridge Aviation, Inc., of Littleton, Colorado, operated by Aspen Flying Club of Englewood, Colorado, and piloted by an airline transport pilot, was destroyed when it impacted mountainous terrain while maneuvering 2.17 miles north-northwest of Idaho Springs, Colorado. A postimpact fire ensued. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal cross-country flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The flight originated at Englewood, Colorado, at 0717, and was en route to Aspen, Colorado.

The accident pilot departed for Aspen, Colorado, in his personal vehicle on the morning of the accident. He was to depart from Aspen at approximately 0830 for a day business trip to Arizona. While en route, he experienced brake problems and returned to Denver, electing to fly to Aspen. At 0500 the pilot called FAA's Denver Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS). He asked the briefer for any reports of cloud tops in the Denver area. The briefer said that the forecast called "for the tops layered to twenty four thousand" feet. The briefer said the weather was improving in the Denver area, but weather conditions in the Aspen area were not expected to improve until later in the day. The pilot did not obtain a full weather briefing and declined a briefing on adverse weather conditions. At 0630, the pilot told a business associate his situation. He called the associate again at 0659 and told him that he was going to fly north to go around the weather. According to FAA, the airplane was reported missing when it failed to arrive in Aspen, Colorado. The Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue Team and the Civil Air Patrol initiated both ground and air searches along the route of flight. The next afternoon, at 1312, a surveyor with the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology came upon the wreckage while surveying near a mine dump. The wreckage was located approximately 100 yards east of Virginia Canyon Road (CR-281) in rising, wooded terrain.

A witness, who resided approximately 1 mile uphill from the accident site, said he heard an airplane fly overhead at the approximate time of the accident, and heard the engine "cut back" and then "power up" again. He said it sounded as if the airplane was 200 to 300 feet above the ground, flying in a southeasterly direction. The witness was unable to see the airplane due to the poor visibility, low clouds, and fog.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 29, held an airline transport pilot certificate with an airplane multiengine land rating and commercial privileges in airplane single engine land. He was type rated in the Gulfstream G-1159, Learjet series, and the Raytheon Premier RA-390S. The pilot also held a flight instructor certificate with airplane single/multiengine and instrument ratings, and a gro