Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On June 6, 2001, approximately 1500 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-22-150 (converted to a PA-20-150 with conventional landing gear), N2970P, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during landing at Akron-Washington County Airport, Akron, Colorado. The private pilot in command and her private pilot certificated passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Great Bend, Kansas, approximately 1315 central daylight time.

The pilot and her passenger departed Great Bend, Kansas, en route home to Prineville, Oregon, and were stopping at Akron for fuel. After monitoring the Akron ASOS (Automated Surface Observing System), she landed on runway 11. As the airplane slowed, the tail was lowered and the airplane turned left into the wind, departed the left side of the runway and collided with a ditch. Damage consisted of a broken right wing main spar, collapsed right main landing gear, bent propeller, and crushed cowling. Winds recorded at Akron approximately 7 minutes before the accident were from 030 degrees at 13 knots. In a telephone conversation with the pilot shortly after the accident, she said she failed to adequately compensate for the left crosswind. the pilot's failure to adequately compensate for wind conditions, resulting in a loss of directional control during landing roll. A contributing factor was the crosswind.