Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On March 18, 1994, at 1730 mountain standard time, a Cessna 150M, N233DB, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain about 10 miles northeast of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.

According to the pilot, the wind was strong when he entered a mountain pass at 10,500 feet MSL (mean sea level). In his pilot/operator report, he wrote: "I encountered a severe downdraft, causing me to lose 800 feet. I was now looking up at the ridge that I was looking down on only seconds before. I attempted to turn away from the ridge but it was too late. I flared just before impact reducing my forward speed. The plane came to rest on a fairly flat spot some 100 feet from the top of the ridge." THE PILOT'S SELECTION OF TOO LOW AN ALTITUDE IN HIGH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.