Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On August 28, 1998, approximately 1400 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N704DL, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during takeoff from an open field near Lamar, Colorado. The student pilot, the sole occupant aboard, sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the instructional solo flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.

The pilot said he departed Air Care Crop Dusting, a private airstrip located about 8 miles northeast of Lamar, and flew to a farmer-friend's hayfield at May Valley, Colorado, located about 5 miles north of Lamar, where he landed. After having a conversation with his friend, he departed. According to his accident report, the pilot used 10 (degrees) of flaps "for a short field takeoff." The airplane lifted off at 50 KIAS (knots indicated airspeed) and began climbing. The pilot then noticed the airplane had begun descending. He said engine power "was 100 per cent and airspeed was less than 50 knots." The airplane struck the ground, crossed a drainage ditch, collided with an embankment, and nosed over. The left wing was bent and the vertical stabilizer was crushed. The pilot's failure to maintain climb airspeed, and inadvertently allowing the airplane to stall/mush. A factor was the embankment.