Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 4, 2007, at 2317 mountain daylight time, a Raytheon Aircraft Company C90A, N590GM, owned by Scenic Aviation Inc., and operated under the business name of Eagle Air Med, was destroyed when it impacted terrain during an en route descent, 22 miles east of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. A post-impact fire ensued. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The medical positioning flight was being operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The airline transport certificated pilot, flight nurse, and paramedic were fatally injured. The flight departed Chinle Municipal Airport (E91), Chinle, Arizona, approximately 2235, and was en route to San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS), Alamosa, Colorado.

According to Eagle Air Med, the pilot and crew were dispatched at 2155 to ALS to pick up a patient. The pilot contacted company dispatch at 2236 with a departure time of 35 minutes after the hour. The pilot reported 12,500 feet as his cruising altitude and 20 minutes as his time en route. The dispatcher questioned this time and requested the pilot update his time en route after he had taken off. The pilot contacted company dispatch one last time at 2257 stating he was 30 minutes from ALS. The company dispatch did not have any flight following capabilities.

The pilot contacted the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZDV) at 2243:54, identifying himself as "lifeguard king air five eight eight sierra alpha" (N588SA - another airplane owned and operated by Scenic Aviation ). The pilot reported that he was flying under visual flight rules (VFR) to ALS at 12,500 feet and was requesting "flight following." The controller assigned a squawk code and radar contact was confirmed at 2245:05. Radar data, provided by ZDV in National Track Analysis Program (NTAP) format, depicted the accident flight from the time of departure from E91 to the time of the accident. The airplane initially climbed to 13,500 feet mean sea level (msl), descended to 11,500 feet msl, and climbed back up to 13,500 feet.

At 2316:05, the pilot changed frequencies as instructed and reported to the controller that he was "on the descent into Alamosa." The controller acknowledged this and issued an altimeter setting of 30.08. At 2316:19, the pilot asked "what's the minimum vectoring altitude out here," and the controller responded "lifeguard eight sierra alpha say again." The pilot then responded "...what is the MSA out here do you know" to which the controller responded "I guess I'm just not understanding what you're saying, either I'm really tired … you're talking a little fast, slow her down for me a little will ya." The pilot responded "...I'm… actually new into Alamosa, just wondering what the uh minimum descent altitude was out here." The controller responded that the minimum instrument altitude (MIA) for the area he was in was 15,000 feet and he would be "cutting acros