# Accident 20020105000749A: Cessna 172K, Boulder, CO, January 5, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 5, 2002, 16:00 local time
- Place: Boulder, CO
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.0936° N, 105.2936° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.0936&lon=-105.2936&mi=10
- Aircraft: N78035, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N78035-2002-07-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172K (registry code 2072430, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172k) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172K
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN02FA017](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02FA017) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020105000749A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON JANUARY 5, 2002 AT APPROXIMATELY 1600 MST, CHARLES K. RICHARDS, PILOT IN COMMAND OF CESSNA 172, N78035 WAS INVOLVED IN A CFIT ACCIDENT IN DAY VMC AND RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED A RIDGE IN THE FOOTHILLS 3 MILES NORTH OF BOULDER, CO AT THE 6300 FOOT LEVEL. WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT DESCRIBED THE AIRCRAFT AS IMPACTING THE HILL IN A WINGS LEVEL NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE WITH POWER. THE ATC RADAR TRACK DEPICTED THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED LONGMONT AIRPORT, (2V2) AT APPROXIMATELY 1530 MST AND PROCEEDED TO REPEATEDLY FLY NORTH AND SOUTHBOUND IN THE VICINITY BETWEEN BOULDER, CO AND LYONS, CO. MR. RICHARDS THEN CIRCLED HIS HOME IN LYONS, CO, PROCEEDED SOUTHBOUND PARALLELING US HIGHWAY 36 AND SWITCHED HIS RADAR TRANSPONDER CODE TO THE EMERGENCY 7700 CODE. THE AIRCRAFT'S TRACK THEN TURNS ABRUPTLY WESTBOUND IMPACTING APPROXIMATELY 1/2 OF A MILE WEST OF THE HIGHWAY. THE NTSB INVESTIGATOR INTERVIEWED THE PILOT'S WIFE WHO INDICATED MR. RICHARDS WAS HAVING SEVERE FAMILY AND PERSONAL PROBLEMS IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS. (SEE ATTACHMENT, N78035 ACCIDENT FACTUAL REPORT).

## 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 DEN02FA017](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02FA017), Jan 5, 2002: Cessna 172K (N78035), Boulder, CO, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's intentional suicidal flight into terrain. Contributing factors were the pilot's psychological depressive state, and his use of inappropriate medication.

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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