Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On December 15, 2010, at 1602 mountain standard time, a Beech B60, N571M, was substantially damaged when it impacted mountainous, snow covered terrain 5.5 miles north, northwest of Edwards, Colorado. A post impact fire ensued. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The private pilot and his pilot rated passenger were fatally injured. The cross country flight departed Pueblo, Colorado, and was en route to Eagle County Regional Airport (KEGE), Eagle, Colorado.

According to transcripts provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airplane was in radar contact and the pilot was in voice communications with Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center. At 1551:12 the controller cleared the pilot to descend to one five thousand and the pilot acknowledged the clearance. At 1556:15 the controller cleared the flight "direct VOAXA cross VOAXA at or above one four thousand, cleared LDA DME approach." The pilot acknowledged this clearance as well, and read back "cleared for the DME 25 approach."

At 1559:07 the controller instructed the pilot to obtain the latest ATIS weather information and the pilot acknowledged the instruction. The controller then instructed the pilot to contact Eagle tower with the ATIS information OSCAR. No other transmissions from the pilot were recorded. The pilot did not establish voice communications with the Eagle Tower.

A review of the radar data, obtained from the FAA, illustrated the flight at 11,200 feet mean sea level (msl). Radar data depicted the airplane turn towards the final approach course which then continue 180 degrees before disappearing from radar at 11,200 feet, at 1602:22.

The wreckage of the airplane was located, from the air, by search and rescue teams on December 16, 2010. The mountainous terrain was characterized with a 20 to 30 degree slope, and was snow covered.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

Pilot

The pilot, age 67, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single, multiengine, and instrument privileges. He was issued a third class airman medical certificate without limitations on November 5, 2009. At the time of application for his medical certificate, the pilot estimated his flight time as 1,300 hours total time; 50 hours of which had been logged in the previous 6 months.

The pilot's flight logbook was not located.

Pilot-Rated Passenger

The pilot-rated passenger, age 73, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single, multiengine, and instrument privileges. He was issued a third class airman medical certificate in November of 2009. The certificate contained the limitation "must wear corrective lenses for near and distant vision."

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The accident airplane, a Beech B60 (serial number P-534), was manufactured in 1980. It was registered with the FAA on a standard air