# Accident 20011218036429A: Piper PA28235, Crestedbutte, CO, December 18, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 18, 2001, 10:45 local time
- Place: Crestedbutte, CO
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.8702° N, 106.9803° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.8702&lon=-106.9803&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8704W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8704W-2003-02-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-235 (registry code 7102810, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-235) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28235
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN02LA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA015) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20011218036429A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON DECEMBER 18, 2001, AT APPROXIMATELY 1045 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-28-2345, N8704W, OPERATED BY CHEROKEE FLYERS, LLC, OF GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN DURING LANDING AT CRESTED BUTTE, COLORADO. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND TWO (2) PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED IN GRAND JUNCTION AT 1000. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE LANDED ON RUNWAY 29 AND THE AIRPLANE BEGAN VEERING OFF TO THE LEFT. THE PILOT APPLIED RIGHT RUDDER BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH A SNOWBANK ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, AND THE NOSE LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. THE FUSELAGE WAS ALSO BUCKLED. THE PILOT SAID THAT AFTER WALKING ALONG THE RUNWAY AND LOCATING THE POINT OF TOUCH DOWN, HE NOTED A SKID MARK MADE BY THE LEFT WHEEL AND HE SUSPECTED THE BRAKE MAY HAVE LOCKED.

## 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 DEN02LA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA015), Dec 18, 2001: Piper PA-28-235 (N8704W), Crested Butte, CO, substantial damage. Probable cause: a wet brake that later froze resulting in a loss of directional control on landing. A contributing factor was the snow bank.

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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