# Accident 20050819023699A: Piper PA32300, Vail, CO, August 19, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 19, 2005, 09:50 local time
- Place: Vail, CO
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.5772° N, 106.2486° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.5772&lon=-106.2486&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4222R, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4222R-2007-07-14) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-300 (registry code 7103212, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-300) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32300
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 700 total, 600 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN05FA128](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05FA128) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050819023699A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON AUGUST 19, 2005, APPROXIMATELY 0950 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-32-300, N4222R OPERATED BY PRIVATE PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMIT^ WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN 8 MILES WEST OF VAIL, COLORADO. VMC CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS FLYING OVER EASTBOUND OVER INTERSTATE 70, JUST WEST OF VAIL PASS WHICH IS ABOUT 10,000 FEET MSL, AND HAD NOT FILED A FLIGHT PLAN. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES THE AIRCRAFT HAD DESCENDED IN ORDER TO VIEW OR FILM A RACE THAT WAS GOING DOWN HILL WEST BOUND SOUTH OF THE EASTBOUND LANE OF I-70. APPARENTLY, THE RATE OF CLIMB OF THE AIRCRAFT COULD NOT MATCH THAT OF THE TERRAIN, AND THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN IN THE EASTBOUND LANE AND IMPACTED A ROAD SIGN AT THE DIVIDING BARRIER. THE AIRPLANE CROSSED THE DIVIDING BARRIER, TRAVELED ACROSS BOTH WESTBOUND LANES AND CONTINUED UPSLOPE INTO SAPLING TREES. THE PILOT WAS CRITICALLY INJURED AND THE PASSENGER SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. ACCORDING TO THE PASSENGER, THERE WERE DOWN DRAFTS WHICH KEPT THE AIRCRAFT FROM BEING ABLE TO CLIMB OVER THE PASS. TEMPERATURE AT THE TIME WAS 57 F AND DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS CALCULATED TO BE 11,067 FEET. AIRWORTHINESS OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT CONSIDERED A FACTOR.

## 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 DEN05FA128](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05FA128), Aug 19, 2005: Piper PA-32-300 (N4222R), Vail, CO, destroyed. Probable cause: the pilot's improper in-flight planning and decision making and failure to maintain clearance from the terrain. Contributing factors include the pilot's attempt to takeoff from the highway, high…

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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