Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On July 5, 1999, at 1042 mountain daylight time, a Pitts (now Aviat) S-2B, N321MB, registered to and operated by the pilot, was destroyed when it impacted terrain while maneuvering 4 miles southeast of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The commercial pilot and his passenger were fatally 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 from Steamboat Springs/Bob Adams Field, at 1018.

Several witnesses submitted written statements to the Routt County Sheriff's Office. Witness no. 1 was on Haymaker Golf Course, north of the accident site, when a biplane flew over at an estimated 500 feet agl (above ground level). The witness said the airplane did "a roll, followed by an upward loop from that altitude before proceeding southward down the valley." The witness said he thought the airplane was climbing after it made the loop, and wondered if the airplane was at "a legal minimum altitude."

Witness no. 2 was driving south on County Road 131. He saw the airplane "in the air and suddenly I saw the plane took a low dive [sic] into the bank. I saw the plane hit the bank, leaving a cloud of dirt. . .I did not see how the plane hit I just saw the plane early in [flight]` and hitting the bank."

Witness no. 3 was also driving south on County Road 131. The airplane came into view in the upper left corner of the car's windshield. The airplane was "spiraling with a flat angle of plane to ground. . .It continued spiraling toward the ground and struck the ground at no more than a 20 degree angle."

Witness no. 4 was in his yard watching the airplane, and said it was "flying upside down (I thought way too low). Then he came back over my ranch, then went straight up, started the 'hammerhead,' came down with a spin. I have seen him do many of these, however, not this low. Continued to spin. . .Maybe I heard the engine rev funny. The plane tried to flatten out but couldn't make it."

Witness no. 5 (who is a private pilot) and her husband, witness no. 6, were southbound on County Road 131, about a mile south of the accident site, when they saw the airplane "climb to do hammerhead stall. Aircraft descended from stall and entered spin at approximately 1,000 feet agl. Aircraft did not recover from spin." They said they did not observe the impact.

Witness no. 7, who was at a residence on nearby Highway 40, said the airplane made "a 'hammerhead stall' into a nose down spin. The airplane never went nose down enough to achieve lift over the wings. The airplane went out of my sight in a flat spin."

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, Richard E. Yeager, age 53, was born on November 22, 1945. He held a commercial pilot certificate (no. 388445940), dated May 8, 1994, with airplane single and multiengine and instrument ratings. He also held a third class airman medical certificate, dated December 15, 1998, with the rest