Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On May 2, 1999, approximately 1340 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182B, N2424G, registered to and operated by the pilot, was destroyed when it collided with terrain while maneuvering 10 miles northeast of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The instrument rated commercial pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. A VFR flight plan had been filed for the personal cross-country flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Front Range Airport, Watkins, Colorado, at 1212, and was en route to Stevens Field, Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the accident area.

According to family members, the pilot and his wife had planned a vacation to visit relatives in Pagosa Springs and Farmington, New Mexico. They were planning a stop in Pagosa Springs for several hours to visit their son and the pilot's brother, and were then going to continue on to Farmington to visit their daughter and her family.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot of N2424G obtained four weather briefings by accessing the Direct User Access System (DUAT). At 0845 and 0855, the pilot requested information for a flight from Denver to Farmington, New Mexico. According to DUAT records, the "low altitude weather brief" the pilot received included AIRMETs (airman's meteorological information) calling for IFR conditions, mountain obscuration, turbulence and icing conditions. The mountains were forecast to be occasionally obscured in clouds, with occasional moderate rime or mixed icing in clouds and precipitation between 10,000 to 18,000 feet (FL180). The ceilings were forecast to be broken to overcast clouds at 8,000 to 10,000 feet, with tops to 20,000 in the mountains to the west. The forecast was for widely scattered rain showers, low ceilings and visibility, with a chance of overcast ceilings between 1,000 to 2,000 and visibility 3 to 5 statue miles. According to the synopsis, an upper level low pressure system was over eastern Colorado moving northeastward.

Records indicate that at 0945 and 0948, the pilot again accessed DUAT and requested flight planning information between Denver and Pagosa Springs. At 1014, the pilot of N2424G used DUAT to file a VFR flight plan from Front Range Airport (FTG) to Pagosa Springs' Stevens Field (2V1), with a cruising altitude of 12,500 feet and an estimated time en route of 1 hour 25 minutes.

After departing Front Range Airport, the pilot of N2424G contacted the Denver Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) at 1221 via the radio and requested that his flight plan be activated as of 1215. The briefer asked the pilot of N2424G, "Did you get the AIRMETs on mountain obscurement, turbulence and icing for that route?" The pilot of N2424G replied, "That's affirmative. We got all the information just a little bit ago."

According to a witness who was skiing in the area where the accident occurred (known as avalanche area 16