Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On August 3, 2006, approximately 0925 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-24-180 Comanche, N5416P, piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed when it collided with mountainous terrain during descent about 16 miles northwest of Mosca, Colorado, near the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The cross-country flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. A visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed but had not been activated. The pilot was fatally injured. The personal flight originated at Pueblo, Colorado, at 0837, and was en route to Alamosa, Colorado.

The pilot was the president of Pueblo Community College. According to the college, he was flying to Alamosa to have some work done on his radios. From there, he planned to fly to Durango, Colorado, and then drive to Cortez, Colorado, to attend the opening of a new college office.

At 0710, the pilot contacted the Denver Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) and filed a VFR flight plan. According to a statement from the AFSS quality assurance specialist, most of the pilot's dialogue was unreadable due to equipment problems. Her summary report and a transcript of the weather briefing indicated the pilot was told, "VFR flight [is] not recommended due to an AIRMET (Airmen Meteorology Information) for occasional IFR (instrument flight rules) conditions until 1800Z (1200 MDT)." Another current AIRMET forecast mountain obscuration through 1300 MDT. At the time of the weather briefing, current weather conditions had not been loaded into [computer] system, so the briefer gave the pilot the previous hour's observations: Pueblo, Alamosa, and LaVeta reported VFR conditions. At the conclusion of the briefing, the pilot said: "I'll go ahead and give it a shot."

According to the flight plan, the route of flight was from Pueblo direct to Silver West Airport (C08), Westcliffe, Colorado, and then direct to Alamosa. Altitude and speed were listed as 10,500 feet and 125 KTAS (knots true airspeed), and estimated time en route and fuel on board were 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 5 hours, 30 minutes, respectively.

Taxi clearance to runway 26L came at 0829:35, and takeoff clearance was issued at 0837:20. The pilot contacted Pueblo departure control at 0839:25, and advised he was climbing through 6,500 feet. The last radio contact with the airplane was at 0856:27, when the pilot acknowledged that radar services had been terminated.

A Bureau of Land Management (BLM) surveyor, located about two miles from the accident site, said he heard an approaching airplane. He said the engine was "sputtering, like it was missing." He did not see the airplane, but he did hear a loud "pop." He went to a clearing and saw a fire on the mountainside. He telephoned his dispatcher in Pueblo, and gave his GPS (Global Positioning System) location and bearing to the fire. The witne