Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On December 13, 2000, at 1158 mountain standard time, a Cessna R182, N2386C, operated by McAir Aviation, Inc., was destroyed during a hard landing at Jeffco Airport, Broomfield, Colorado. The commercial certificated flight instructor and her private certificated student were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan had been filed for the instructional flight being operated under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Pueblo, Colorado, appoximately 45 minutes before the accident.

According to the accident report submitted by the flight instructor, they were cleared to land on runway 11L. Despite the wind "shifting directions," proper wind correction was applied and the airplane landed. During the rollout, the nose started shaking and full up elevator was applied. The propeller struck the ground and the airplane came to a halt.

According to the airplane owner who witnessed the accident, the airplane "was too high for normal glidepath...the plane suddenly descended in a near level flight attitude from an altitude of approximately 40 feet above the runway...the plane hit in a full stalled configuration."

Postaccident inspection revealed the airframe was extensively damaged, particularly around the cabin doors when the main landing gear was driven up into the fuselage. The airplane was subsequently declared to be a total loss. the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the dual student, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing factors were the dual student flaring the airplane prematurely, resulting in an inadvertent stall/mush.