# Accident 19990901044919A: Piper PA28181, Villa Grove, CO, September 1, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 1, 1999, 08:25 local time
- Place: Villa Grove, CO
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.2509° N, 105.9497° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.2509&lon=-105.9497&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4366D, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4366D-2012-12-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-181 (registry code 7102807, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28181
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 2
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN99FA157](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99FA157) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990901044919A

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE WAS ONE IN A FLIGHT OF THREE AIRPLANES BEING USED TO TRAIN FBI PILOTS IN MOUNTAIN FLYING TECHNIQUES. ACCORDING TO THE OTHER TWO FBI AGENTS, THEY CAME THROUGH HAYDEN PASS AND TURNED NORTH. THEY WERE TO PRACTICE TURNING AROUND IN BLIND CANYONS. ONE FBI AGENT SAID HE AND HIS FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR PERFORMED THREE TYPES OF EXIT MANUEVERS IN THEIR CESSNA 172. THE OTHER AGENT SAID HE AND HIS INSTRUCTOR, ALSO FLYING A CESSNA 172, WERE DISCUSSING THE EXIT MANUEVERS WHEN THEY NOTICED SMOKE ON A MOUNTAIN. SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE BURNING WRECKAGE OF N4366D.

## 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 DEN99FA157](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99FA157), Sep 1, 1999: Piper PA-28-181 (N4366D), Villa Grove, CO, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The flight instructor's improper inflight decision to enter a narrow blind/box canyon, and his misjudgment of the vertical and lateral clearances. A factor was the downdrafts.

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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