# Accident 19810707043019A: Piper PA28RT201, Westcliffe, CO, July 7, 1981

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 7, 1981, 10:00 local time
- Place: Westcliffe, CO
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.1342° N, 105.4653° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Westcliffe, CO, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.1342&lon=-105.4653&mi=10
- Aircraft: N31568, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N31568-1982-09-24) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28R-201T (registry code 7102813, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28r-201t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28RT201
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 328 total, 17 in this make and model, 76 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN81FTE55](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN81FTE55) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19810707043019A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

INSTRUCTOR DEMONSTRATING HOW TO OBTAIN LIFT FROM MOUNTAIN. RIDGES GOT CAUGHT IN DOWNDRAFT AND COULD NOT CLEAR RIDGE

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB DEN81FTE55](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN81FTE55), Jul 7, 1981: Piper PA-28R (N31568), Westcliffe, CO, substantial damage

## Other reports on N31568 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19800716082049I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19800716082049I), Jul 16, 1980: Piper PA28R201T (N31568), Falcon, CO, Minor damage. Pilot landing downwind hit a fence on the go around. Was able to continue flight.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.