# Accident 19980702024449A: Cessna 172E, Denver, CO, July 2, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 2, 1998, 19:40 local time
- Place: Denver, CO
- Airport: Front Range Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.7506° N, 104.5994° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.7506&lon=-104.5994&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7780U, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7780U-1998-10-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172E (registry code 2072412, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172E
- Reported engine: CONT O300D
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 506 total, 426 in this make and model, 105 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98LA295](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA295) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980702024449A

## Narrative

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

ENCOUNTERED SEVERE UNRECOVERABLE DOWNDRAFT ON CLIMBOUT. COLLIDED RISING TERRAIN. THUNDERSTORM IN AREA. (.4)THE PILOT LANDED AT FRONT RANGE AIRPORT, WATKINS, COLORADO, REFUELED, AND WAITED 90 MINUTES FOR A THUNDERSTORM TO PASS.  HE THEN TOOK OFF EN ROUTE TO ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO.  HE RETURNED TO THE AIRPORT SHORTLY THEREAFTER BECAUSE HE ENCOUNTERED 'STEADY STATE PRECIPITATION.'  HE WAITED FOR 30 MINUTES 'UNTIL THE RAIN AND VIRGA PASSED AND THE WIND [HAD] DIED DOWN.'  HE TOOK OFF FROM RUNWAY 17 INTO A 4 TO 6 KNOT WIND FROM 160 DEGREES.  AFTER CLIMBING ABOUT 400 TO 500 FEET AGL, HE BEGAN TO FEEL THE AIRPLANE SINKING RAPIDLY.  HE MAINTAINED AN AIRSPEED OF 60 TO 65 KNOTS DURING THE DESCENT, AND THE STALL WARNING HORN SOUNDED INTERMITTENTLY.  THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH RISING TERRAIN SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT.  IT WAS THE PILOT'S OPINION THAT HE HAD ENCOUNTERED A MICROBURST. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, LOCATED 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF FRONT RANGE AIRPORT, REPORTED THERE WERE SEVERAL CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS AT 5500 FEET IN THE AREA, WITH WINDS FROM THE EAST AT 20 KNOTS, GUSTS TO 26 KNOTS, AND PEAK WINDS AT 30 KNOTS.  A LINE O                                               F CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS, STRETCHING FORM THE NORTHWEST TO THE NORTHEAST, WER E MOVING NORTH WITH RAIN SHOWERS TO THE NORTHEAST.

## 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 FTW98LA295](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA295), Jul 3, 1998: Cessna 172E (N7780U), Watkins, CO, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate evaluation of the weather which resulted in an encounter with a microburst. Contributing was the airplane's climb capability exceeded by the microburst, and rising terrain.

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.