Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On August 7, 2006, at 1020 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-201, N6506C, piloted by an airline transport pilot, was destroyed when it collided with mountainous terrain while maneuvering 16 miles northwest of Salida, Colorado, near the community of Maysville, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The business cross-country flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. A visual flight rules (VFR) was filed but was not activated. The pilot was fatally injured and his passenger was seriously injured. The flight originated at Salida (0V2) at 0945, and was en route to Milford, Utah (MLF).

Papers found in the wreckage indicate the pilot was returning to Reid-Hillview Airport (RHV), San Jose, California, after attending the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) Convention (AirVenture 2006) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (OSH). According to data from the on-board GPSmap 396 (Global Positioning System), the airplane arrived at Salida at 1951 on the evening before the accident. It was refueled with 36.436 gallons of 100-LL aviation-grade gasoline. The time stamped on the fuel pump records was 1952.

According to the 0V2 airport manager, the pilot and his passenger arrived at the airport the next morning approximately 0900. The pilot was seen using his laptop computer. According to Computer Science Corporation (CSC) Direct User Access Terminal System (DUATS), the pilot obtained a weather briefing and filed a VFR flight plan. The pilot asked the airport manager which route he should take to go to MLF. He said he wanted to fly west across Monarch Pass (elevation 11,312 feet msl). The airport manager suggested that he fly south through Poncha Pass before turning west towards Gunnison.

GPS data indicates the airplane took off from runway 06 at 1000:06, and turned left towards Monarch Pass. Witnesses camped alongside the North Fork of the South Arkansas River drainage told Chaffee County sheriff deputies that they saw a low-wing single-engine airplane flying north up the canyon along County Road 240. Another witness, located about 2 miles from the accident site, said he saw a low-flying airplane that passed overhead and flew into the valley. When it failed to emerge, he went to investigate and found the wreckage. The lone survivor was sitting on a rock next to the airplane. He reported the accident to 9-1-1 via satellite telephone at 1037. Emergency crews were dispatched at 1043, and arrived on-scene at 1140. The accident site was secured at 1508.

The 19-year-old passenger declined to be interviewed. According to a spokesperson, the passenger could not recall any of the events leading to the accident.

The accident occurred during the hours of daylight at a GPS (Global Positioning System) location of 38 degrees, 37.850' north latitude, and 106 degrees, 19.58' west longitude, at an elevation of 12,020 feet msl (above mean sea lev