# Accident 19981230034429A: Piper PA28181, Rollins Pass, CO, December 30, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 30, 1998
- Place: Rollins Pass, CO
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Aircraft: N8112S, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8112S-1999-03-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-181 (registry code 7102807, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28181
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN99LA030](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99LA030) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981230034429A

## Narrative

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

ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES WEST OF DENVER AT CORONA PASS. (.19) ON DECEMBER 30, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 1300 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-28-181, N8112S, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS DESTROYED AFTER COLLIDING WITH TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING NEAR ROLLINSVILLE, COLORADO. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS TWO PASSENGERS RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM BOULDER MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, BOULDER, COLORADO, APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. ALTHOUGH VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED AT BROOMFIELD, COLORADO, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITION PREVAILED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE WAS EN ROUTE TO STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO, WHEN HE ENCOUNTERED STRONG WINDS AND BLOWING SNOW. HE MADE THE DECISION TO RETURN TO BOULDER. HE SAID THAT AFTER HE TURNED AROUND, A STRONG DOWNDRAFT CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO IMPACT THE GROUND.                                    (-23) PILOT RECEIVED A WEATHER BRIEFING PRIOR TO FLIGHT. PILOT DECIDED TO FLY EVEN THOUGH WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE MARGINAL AT BEST. ^PRIVACY DATA OM^    ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ PILOT ENCOUNTERED A STRONG DOWNDRAFT OVER ROLLINS PASS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RETURN TO BOULDER, BECAUSE OF WEATHER CONDITIONS. HE HAD INSUFFICIENT POWER TO RECOVER AND CRASHED ON THE PASS. PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS HAD MINOR INJURIES. THE PASSENGERS WERE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^

## 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 DEN99LA030](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99LA030), Dec 30, 1998: Piper PA-28-181 (N8112S), Rollinsville, CO, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate decision to continue flight into deteriorating weather conditions, that included a downdraft which resulted in a loss of control, and collision with terrain. Contributing…

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.

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