# Accident 19990816040569A: Piper PA32260, Aspen, CO, August 16, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 16, 1999, 09:00 local time
- Place: Aspen, CO
- Airport: Aspen-Pitkin Co - Sardy Field
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.1895° N, 106.8195° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.1895&lon=-106.8195&mi=10
- Aircraft: N991RC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N991RC-2017-06-19) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-260 (registry code 7103206, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-260) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32260
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN99LA146](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99LA146) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990816040569A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT DEPARTED ASE AIRPORT FOR SGR IN SUGARLAND, TX. PILOT ATTEMPTED A FORCED LANDING ON INDEPENDENCE PASS AFTER EXPERIENCING VERY POOR CLIMB PERFORMANCE. PILOT STATED THAT HE REALIZED THAT HE WAS NOT GOING TO CLIMB OVER THE PASS SO HE ELECTED TO LAND  STRAIGHT AHEAD RATHER THAN ATTEMPT A TURN AND RISK A STALL. PILOT STATED TO NTSB THAT "THE AIRPLANE REALLY GOT MUSHY". DENSITY ALTITUDE AT ACCIDENT SITE WAS CALCULATED TO BE 12,766 FEET. PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS EXPERIENCED VERY MINOR INJURIES. LEFT WING AND THE A/C ENGINE SEPARATED FROM FUSELAGE DURING ACCIDENT. A/C RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE DUE TO FORCED LANDING RESULTING FROM DENSITY ALTITUDE INDUCED POOR PERFORMANCE.

## 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 DEN99LA146](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99LA146), Aug 16, 1999: Piper PA-32-260 (N991RC), Aspen, CO, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate in flight planning. Factors were the high density altitude, the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing, and the sign post that the right wing impacted.

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.