# Accident 20040103000259A: Gulstm 690A, Cortez, CO, January 3, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 3, 2004, 12:12 local time
- Place: Cortez, CO
- Airport: Cortez-Montezuma County
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: W9WA
- Location: 37.3028° N, 108.6281° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.3028&lon=-108.6281&mi=10
- Aircraft: N700SR, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N700SR-2004-08-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aero Commander 690A (registry code 0141722, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-commander-690a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: AiResearch TPE331 series (registry code 01514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/airesearch-tpe331-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: GULSTM 690A
- Reported engine: GARRTT TPE331*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,872 total, 91 in this make and model, 29 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN04FA035](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN04FA035) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040103000259A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ACCIDENT OF N700SR, GA-690-A ON JANUARY 3, 2004 AT CORTEZ, COLORADO. ON JANUARY 3, 2004, AT 1212 MST, AN AERO COMMANDER 690A, N700SR, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING FOR LANDING AT CORTEZ, COLORADO. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, THE ONLY OCCUPANT ABOARD, WAS FATALLY INJURED. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. THE PILOT WAS EXECUTING THE VOR APPROACH TO RUNWAY 21. HE WAS HEARD TO REPORT PROCEDURE TURN AND VOR INBOUND. TWO WITNESSES WALKED OUTSIDE THERE HANGAR TO WATCH. THEY SAID THEY SAW THE AIRPLANE EMERGE FROM THE OVERCAST SLIGHTLY HIGH AND FAST. THE AIRPLANE STARTED A STEEP LEFT TURN AND DISAPPEARED FROM VIEW. THE WITNESS SAID IT WAS SNOWING HEAVILY TO THE NORTHEAST AT THE TIME. ANOTHER WITNESS WAS SITTING IN A RESTAURANT NEAR THE AIRPORT PERIMETER. SHE SAID SHE SAW THE AIRPLANE GO BY AT A LOW ALTITUDE IN A STEEP BANK. THE WINGS WERE "WOBBLING" AND THE NOSE WAS "DIPPING." SHE THEN SAW THE LEFT WING DROP AND THE AIRPLANE DESCEND TO THE GROUND "ALMOST VERTICALLY." RECORDED WEATHER NEAR THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT AT 1212 MST WAS: 1209 MST WIND 290@10 GUST 15, 1/2 MILE VISIBILITY IN SNOW AND FOG, FEW 300, BROKEN 900, OVERCAST 3200, TEMP 00, DEWPOINT 00, ALTIMETER 29.71. 1225 MST WIND 290@8, 1/2 MILE VISIBILITY IN SNOW AND FOG, BROKEN 400, OVERCAST 900, TEMP 00, DEWPOINT 00, ALTIMETER 29.71.

## 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 DEN04FA035](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN04FA035), Jan 3, 2004: Rockwell 690A (N700SR), Cortez, CO, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's inadequate planned approach and his failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in a stall. Contributing factors were low altitude flight maneuvering in an attempt to lose excessive…

## Other reports on N700SR (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19900401012349I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19900401012349I), Apr 1, 1990: Gulstm 690A (N700SR), Kalamazoo, MI, Minor damage. Landed with gear partly extended. Insufficient pressure in nose strut allowed retract without full extension.

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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