Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On June 18, 1999, approximately 1600 mountain daylight time, N5266J, a Cessna 172N, registered to KLM Aircraft and operated by the Aims Community College, both of Greeley, Colorado, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain while landing at Platteville, Colorado. The private pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the instructional flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Greeley approximately 1530.

According to the pilot's accident report, he had been practicing chandelles and lazy 8s when he decided to land at Kugel Strong Airport, near Platteville, Colorado. He landed on runway 15, turned around at the end of the runway, and took off on runway 33. He remained in the airport traffic pattern with the intention of making another landing. The pilot said the touch down was "firm." The airplane bounced three times before the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane skidded to a halt, damaging the right wing extensively. The pilot misjudging the flare altitude, resulting in a hard landing, and his subsequent loss of aircraft control. A factor was overload forces collapsing the nose landing gear assembly.