Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On September 15, 2006, approximately 1033 mountain daylight time, a Beech 35-C33, N5893J, piloted by a commercial pilot , was destroyed when during cruise flight the airplane impacted mountainous terrain, 9 miles southwest of Telluride, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and three passengers on board were fatally injured. The cross-country flight originated at Taos, New Mexico, at 0902, and was en route to Telluride.

An employee for Taos Aviation Services in Taos, New Mexico, said the airplane arrived there approximately 0830. He said the airplane pulled right up to the gas pumps. The pilot fueled the airplane. The fuel ticket from the transaction showed the pilot on loaded 56 gallons of 100 low lead gas. The time on the ticket was 0852. The employee said that he spoke with the pilot prior to them taking off. The pilot told him that they were flying up to Telluride to attend the Blues and Brews Festival. The employee asked the pilot if he'd ever flown into Telluride before. The pilot told him that he'd been into the airport about a month earlier. The employee said that he and the pilot talked about the festival and then the pilot and the three passengers got back into the airplane and left. The employee said he noticed nothing out of the ordinary with the pilot.

National Track Analysis Program (NTAP) data compiled by the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center showed the airplane operating on a VFR (visual flight rules) Mode C transponder code of 1-2-0-0. The airplane was picked up on radar at 0941:34, approximately 38 nautical miles northwest of Taos, New Mexico, at an altitude of 13,900 feet on a 293-degree heading, tracking toward Pagosa Springs, Colorado. At 0951:29, the airplane leveled off at 15,800 feet mean sea level (msl). NTAP recorded groundspeeds en route averaged approximately 128 knots.

At 1003:10, approximately 5 miles southwest of Stevens Field (2V1), Pagosa Springs, Colorado, the airplane turned southwest on a 214-degree heading. The airplane remained on that heading for approximately 5 minutes. At 1008:26, the airplane turned west-northwest on a 306-degree heading. Between 1004:46 and 1022:02, the airplane made a gradual descent to 15,000 feet msl.

At 1025:13, the airplane began a turn toward the north and the Telluride Airport. The airplane rolled out on a 348-degree heading, and maintained 15,000 feet. At 1026:01, the airplane began a gradual descent from 15,000 feet at a descent rate of approximately 600 feet per minute. Between 1030:52 and 1031:11, the airplane descended through 14,000 feet.

At 1031:40, the airplane made a turn back to the west-northwest. The airplane was at 13,900 feet. The airplane maintained a 297-degree course toward Wilson Peak and the Lizard Head Pass area.

At 1032:34, the airplane sh