19811231000039A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Piper PA-31-350 · Durango, CO · December 31, 1981

Date
December 31, 1981 · 18:55 local
Place
Durango, CO
Airport
La Plata
Phase of flight
Missed Approach IFR
Operating rules
Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator
SDCA
Damage
Destroyed
Aircraft
N41070
NTSB investigation
NTSBDCA82AA007
Reported as
Piper PA31350
Reported engine
Lycoming TIO540*
People aboard
3
Fatal injuries
3
Pilot’s flight hours
4,900 total1,381 in this make and model234 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Lost altitude and crashed after initiating a missed approach. Snow and fog a contributing factor. No engine problem

As the FAA filed it

LOST ALTITUDE AND CRASHED AFTER INITIATING A MISSED APPROACH. SNOW AND FOG A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR. NO ENGINE PROBLEM

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.