# Accident 20010124001929A: Aero Vodochody L39CT, Watkins, CO, January 24, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 24, 2001, 11:27 local time
- Place: Watkins, CO
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.7622° N, 104.5792° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.7622&lon=-104.5792&mi=10
- Aircraft: N602MC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N602MC-2015-05-19) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aero Vodochody L39CT (registry code 05620RM, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-vodochody-l39ct) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Ivchenko AL-25SERIES (registry code 34702, https://openairdocs.org/engine/ivchenko-al-25series) (OpenAirDocs)
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN01FA044](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN01FA044) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010124001929A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED RUNWAY 26, AND TURNED CROSSWIND FOR A SOUTHBOUND DEPARTURE. WITNESSES OBSERVED SOMETHING FLYING FROM THE A/C. A SEARCH OF THE FIELD ALONG THE FLIGHT PATH PRIOR TO IMPACT REVEALED PIECES OF PLEXIGLASS FROM CANOPY, AND THE REAR SEAT OCCUPANTS HEADPHONE AND HAT. THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO PITCH-UP APPROX. 30 DEGREES, AND DROP IMMEDIATELY TO THE GROUND. THE IMPACT WITH TERRAIN DESTROYED THE AIRPLANE.

## 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 DEN01FA044](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN01FA044), Jan 24, 2001: Aero Vodochody Aero. Works L-39CT (N602MC), Watkins, CO, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, and the subsequent inadvertent stall/mush. Factors were the pilot's diverted attention due to the failure of the rear canopy's acrylic transparency…

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.