Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 29, 2005, approximately 1350 mountain daylight time, a Taylorcraft BC12-D, N44269, operated by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during a go-around at Marble Airport, Marble, 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 cross-country flight departed Taos, New Mexico, approximately 1130.

According to several witness in the area, the pilot had been attempting to land to the west on a grass strip, just north of Marble, Colorado. The pilot had made approximately five attempts to land prior to the accident. During the sixth approach, the airplane touched down approximately midfield, the pilot added power and the airplane became airborne again. Witnesses stated that the airplane struck a road embankment at the end of the runway, continued in a steep climb, and then struck several 60-foot high aspen trees approximately 150 feet west of the end of the runway. The airplane "rolled off hard to the right," and impacted the southbound lane of County Road 3 in a nose low attitude.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 76, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land privileges. This certificate was issued on October 16, 1990. The pilot had been issued a third class airman medical certificate on December 20, 2002. The certificate contained the limitations "Must wear corrective lenses for near and distant vision" and "Not valid for any class after December 21, 2004."

The pilot was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 61.303 (b), as it applies to light-sport aircraft. This entitled the pilot to operate an aircraft without a current medical certificate; however, he must hold a current and valid U.S. driver's license. No license was found on his person or in the wreckage.

According to the pilot's personal logbook, he had logged approximately 382 hours total flight time; 90 hours of which were in the accident airplane. The pilot had successfully completed a flight review on March 10, 2005. In addition, the pilot had received a tail wheel endorsement on June 6, 2000. The pilot's logbook contained no record of flight activity between the flight review and the accident flight and no evidence of mountain flight experience or training.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The accident airplane, a Taylorcraft BC12-D (serial number 10069), was manufactured in 1946. It was registered with the Federal Aviation Administration with a standard airworthiness certificate. The airplane was equipped with a Teledyne Continental Motors O-200-A engine rated at 100 horsepower at 2700 rpm. The engine was equipped with a two-blade fixed-pitch propeller.

The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot, and was maintained under an annual inspection program. The maintenance records indicated that the airplane underwe