Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 28, 2003, at 1140 mountain daylight time, a Mattison Starduster Too, N80T, piloted by an airline transport pilot, was destroyed when it impacted terrain 300 feet west of the Colorado Springs East Airport (A50), Ellicott, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The local flight originated approximately 5 minutes prior to the accident.

The airplane's owner said that the purpose of the flight was to ferry the airplane from A50 to Meadow Lake Airport, Falcon, Colorado. The owner said the airplane was fueled just prior to takeoff. The owner told the pilot before the flight, "Please don't do anything fancy. I don't want you to break my pretty airplane."

Witnesses on the ground stated the airplane took off, "circled the pattern," and made a low pass over runway 17 (4,550 feet by 52 feet, dry asphalt) at approximately 200 feet. Approximately midway down the runway, the witnesses observed the airplane make a slow roll to the right. One witness stated that approximately two-thirds of the way through the roll the airplane flew into the ground at a steep angle.

Another witness stated the airplane was "at about 200 feet off the ground. He pulled up and started his roll to the right." The witness said halfway through the roll with the airplane upside down, the airplane started failing out of the roll. The witness said the pilot " started to turn the plane back over while coming out of the roll. He had power on to try to recover but his angle nose down and rate of altitude loss was too much. He hit the ground at the same angle." The witness described the angle as approximately 45 degrees nose down.

Another witness said the pilot "attempted to roll the aircraft. It went 180 degrees onto its back then fell nose down headed north. [The] Plane started to pull up slightly but continued to dive at approx[imately a] 45 to 50 degree angle and impacted [the] ground at high speed.


PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with single and multiengine land, single engine sea, and instrument ratings. The pilot also held a certified flight instructor certificate with single engine, multiengine, and instrument ratings. The pilot was actively employed as a flight instructor.

According to insurance records obtained through the pilot's employer, as of May 30, 2003, the pilot had over 11,000 total flying hours. The records showed the pilot had 10,800 hours as pilot-in-command, over 4,500 hours in single-engine, fixed-landing gear airplanes, and 650 hours in tail-wheel aircraft. The records also showed the pilot claimed having flown 250 hours in the previous 12 months and 65 hours within the previous 90 days.

The pilot held a second class medical certificate dated December 9, 2002. The certificate showed the fol