Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On May 8, 1999, approximately 1500 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N6128K, was substantially damaged following impact with terrain near Maybell, Colorado. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was owned/operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight which originated approximately 2 hours before the accident. No flight plan had been filed.

According to the pilot, he was attempting to signal his friends on the ground to drive to the airstrip to pick up him and his passenger. He reported that as he "turned from east to south, it suddenly got very quiet and the airspeed went to nothing." He further reported that the airplane became "very sluggish and mushy to handle, and he could hear the ailerons banging stop to stop." The pilot said that the stall horn came on and he pushed the airplane's nose down to gain airspeed. The airplane impacted a plowed field, crushing the nose wheel landing gear aft, and coming to rest in an inverted position.

The pilot reported that the wind was approximately 250 degrees at 10 knots with gusts estimated 25 to 30 knots. The density altitude was calculated to be 8,600 feet above mean sea level. The pilot's inadvertent stall while maneuvering. Factors were the wind gusts weather conditions, and the high density altitude weather conditions.