Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On September 27, 2015, about 0946 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182G airplane, N3147S, impacted rough terrain during a forced landing near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The private pilot was seriously injured and the passenger received minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial wing and fuselage damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed about the time of the accident, and the flight was not operating on a flight plan. The local flight originated from the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport/Sardy Field (ASE), near Aspen, Colorado, about 0929.According to the pilot's accident report, he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane and listened to a recorded weather report at ASE. He performed an engine run-up and took off to the northwest. The pilot reported that about 15 minutes later, he was at 9,700 feet above mean sea level and he realized he was at full throttle and had no more power to climb. He said that the engine monitor indicated he "lost cylinder #2 and #4 was going down." He stated that the engine did not stop but it was "running very low." The pilot thought of diverting to an airport but did not have enough altitude. He spotted an open field near Highway 82 south of Glenwood Springs and he flew the airplane to it. The pilot heard the stall warning horn sound and he turned the airplane left to the south to land uphill. He knew the field was not flat. The airplane touched down twice, it impacted a ditch, and it nosed over.

The pilot held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) private certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. The pilot was issued an FAA third class medical certificate, on August 11, 2015, with a limitation to have glasses available for near vision. According to the pilot's report, he accumulated 640 hours of total flight time.

N3147S was a 1964 model Cessna 182G, single-engine, high-wing, fixed tricycle landing gear airplane with serial number 18255647. The airplane was powered by a six-cylinder, 230 horsepower Continental O-470-R reciprocating engine, marked with serial number 130470-4-R. The engine drove a McCauley two-bladed constant speed propeller. The operator reported that the airplane had accumulated 5,593 hours of total flight time. According to the airplane's maintenance records, an endorsement indicated that the last annual inspection was completed on April 30, 2015 and a tachometer time of 4,181 hours was noted. The endorsement indicated that the magneto 500-hour check was accomplished and their timing was set to 22 degrees before top dead center when the magnetos were reinstalled.

The accident airplane was equipped with a J. P. Instruments (JPI) EDM-700, which was a panel-mounted gauge that the operator can monitor and record up to 24 parameters related to engine operations. Depending on the installation engine parameters monitored can include Exhaust Gas Te