Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On August 9, 1997, at 0900 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 210, N1119W, impacted in a field near the Eagle County Airport, Eagle, Colorado, after experiencing a total loss of power during initial climb following takeoff. The private pilot and his wife received serious injuries, and their son and dog were not injured. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and postimpact fire. The flight was operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and a VFR flight plan was filed for this personal flight to San Angelo, Texas.

According to the pilot's statement and from telephone interviews with the pilot by the IIC, he and his family had spent a week in the Eagle area and were returning to their home in Texas, when the accident occurred. The pilot said he checked the fuel tanks full and drained the sumps with no water or sediment noted. Engine start, run-up and taxi were normal and all gauges were in the normal range. The takeoff was made on runway 25 with normal rotation occurring at 90 knots. Just prior to raising the landing gear the engine began to run rough and the pilot made an attempt to perform a 180 degree turn to land on runway 07. He also went full rich on the mixture and turned on the boost pump. The engine lost all power and a forced landing was made in a field approximately 1/2 mile off the approach end of runway 07. The left wing fuel tank was ruptured in the landing and the aircraft caught fire. The pilot, his wife, son, and dog exited the aircraft; however, fuel spilled on the pilot and his left arm caught fire. His wife and son extinguished the fire on the pilot and all occupants successfully exited the aircraft which was burning. Following the occupants' egress, the aircraft exploded. Injuries were confined to the pilot and his wife. Both fractured T-12 vertebrae, and the pilot suffered second degree burns and a fractured L-1 vertebrae.

The engine was examined at the facilities of Beegles Aircraft Services, Greeley, Colorado, on August 19, 1997. Present for the examination were: NTSB Investigator-In-Charge (IIC), and representatives from Cessna Aircraft, and Continental Engines.

The engine was a Continental TSIO-520-R, serial number 209551-R. The engine had been subjected to fire and impact damage, exterior sooting, with some melting, and burn damage to the accessory section and other attachments and appendages as follows:

All hoses cables and wires in the engine compartment were burned, stretched, and/or broken.

Most of the induction system, including the throttle body, was melted. The butterfly valve remained.

The fuel control unit suffered fire damage but was not melted. The throttle linkage was loose, and the mixture was full rich.

The turbocharger remained attached to the engine exhaust system but could not be rotated due to the hood having melted and run into the compressor inlet. No other foreign material was found in the inlet or turbine areas. The turbocharger was removed and taken to Allied Signal, Phoenix, A