Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents
Learn from Colorado's accident history to fly safer in the Rockies
2310 Total Accidents
425 Fatal
816 Fatalities
1982-2026
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2 Fatal
LA VETA, Colorado
NTSB Narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On July 6, 1999, at 0745 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182J, N3334F, collided with the ground approximately 5.5 miles east of the La Veta-Cuchara Valley Airport, La Veta, Colorado, following takeoff. The private pilot and her passenger received fatal injuries and the aircraft was destroyed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site and a VFR flight plan was filed for this personal flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The destination was Amarillo, Texas.
A witness, the first person on the accident scene, related that he heard the aircraft and thought it flew by several times. He said he looked out to see the aircraft and it was "headed straight down with the engine racing." The witness said he did not see the impact but proceeded to where he thought the aircraft may have impacted which took about 5 minutes. The witness said he checked for survivors, but found none.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The 40-year-old pilot held private pilot certificate with an airplane single engine land rating. She did not hold an instrument rating. Her certificate was issued on January 9, 1998.
The last known medical certificate issued to the pilot was a Third Class Certificate issued on August 30, 1996. There were no restrictions or limitations on the certificate, and according to Federal Aviation Administration Regulations, her medical certificate was no longer valid due to exam date limitations. (See attached.)
According to her logbook, the pilot had 113 total hours of flight experience with 30 hours of that experience having been accumulated in the accident aircraft. She had logged 32 hours of pilot-in-command time with 14 hours of that time in the accident aircraft. She had 5 hours of night experience and 5 hours of simulated instrument experience. Her last recorded biennial flight review (or equivalent) was conducted on February 26, 1998, in the accident aircraft.
She had flown an estimated 2 hours in the 24 hours preceding the accident, and the last entry in her logbook was dated June 29, 1998.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The accident aircraft, a Cessna 182J registered as N3334F, was manufactured in 1966, and was owned by a group of persons who used the name "Foxtrot Flyers" for their organization. The aircraft was powered by a Continental Engines O-470-R engine serial number 6757-7-l rated at 230 brake horsepower (bhp) on a standard day at sea level. The maximum certified gross weight was 2,950 pounds.
The engine logbook provided information that the engine was overhauled on May 3, 1996 at a total time of 1,308 hours of operation. The last entry in the engine logbook was made on June 17, 1998 and was an annual inspection. At the time of the entry, the recorded engine time since overhaul was 174 hours.
According to the last airframe logbook entry, the airframe had 2,682 hours of flight time as of June 17, 1998. The logbook provided information that the airframe annual inspection was done on
On July 6, 1999, at 0745 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182J, N3334F, collided with the ground approximately 5.5 miles east of the La Veta-Cuchara Valley Airport, La Veta, Colorado, following takeoff. The private pilot and her passenger received fatal injuries and the aircraft was destroyed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site and a VFR flight plan was filed for this personal flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The destination was Amarillo, Texas.
A witness, the first person on the accident scene, related that he heard the aircraft and thought it flew by several times. He said he looked out to see the aircraft and it was "headed straight down with the engine racing." The witness said he did not see the impact but proceeded to where he thought the aircraft may have impacted which took about 5 minutes. The witness said he checked for survivors, but found none.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The 40-year-old pilot held private pilot certificate with an airplane single engine land rating. She did not hold an instrument rating. Her certificate was issued on January 9, 1998.
The last known medical certificate issued to the pilot was a Third Class Certificate issued on August 30, 1996. There were no restrictions or limitations on the certificate, and according to Federal Aviation Administration Regulations, her medical certificate was no longer valid due to exam date limitations. (See attached.)
According to her logbook, the pilot had 113 total hours of flight experience with 30 hours of that experience having been accumulated in the accident aircraft. She had logged 32 hours of pilot-in-command time with 14 hours of that time in the accident aircraft. She had 5 hours of night experience and 5 hours of simulated instrument experience. Her last recorded biennial flight review (or equivalent) was conducted on February 26, 1998, in the accident aircraft.
She had flown an estimated 2 hours in the 24 hours preceding the accident, and the last entry in her logbook was dated June 29, 1998.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The accident aircraft, a Cessna 182J registered as N3334F, was manufactured in 1966, and was owned by a group of persons who used the name "Foxtrot Flyers" for their organization. The aircraft was powered by a Continental Engines O-470-R engine serial number 6757-7-l rated at 230 brake horsepower (bhp) on a standard day at sea level. The maximum certified gross weight was 2,950 pounds.
The engine logbook provided information that the engine was overhauled on May 3, 1996 at a total time of 1,308 hours of operation. The last entry in the engine logbook was made on June 17, 1998 and was an annual inspection. At the time of the entry, the recorded engine time since overhaul was 174 hours.
According to the last airframe logbook entry, the airframe had 2,682 hours of flight time as of June 17, 1998. The logbook provided information that the airframe annual inspection was done on
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Details
| NTSB Report | DEN99FA114 |
| Aircraft | Cessna 182J |
| Registration | N3334F |
| Damage | DEST |
| FAR Part | 091 |
| Location | 37.5097, -105.0003 |
