# Accident 20230706009179A: Piper AEROSTAR 601P, Burlington, CO, July 6, 2023

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 6, 2023, 14:00 local time
- Place: Burlington, CO
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.0490° N, 102.3375° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.0490&lon=-102.3375&mi=10
- Aircraft: N100PB, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N100PB) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper AEROSTAR 601P (registry code 7106012, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-aerostar-601p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540 series (registry code 41530, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER AEROSTAR 601P
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-540 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 20,000 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN23FA285](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23FA285) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230706009179A

## Narrative

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

PIPER AEROSTAR 601P CRASHED INTO A FIELD DUE TO UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES APPROXIATELY 13 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF THE KIT CARSON COUNTY AIRPORT (ITR). WRECKAGE WAS DISCOVERED BY A FARMER AT APPROXIMATELY 12:00 P.M. ON SATURDAY JULY 8, 2023. AIRCRAFT IS BELIEVED TO HAVE CRASHED ON THURSDAY JULY 6, 2023. AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND THERE WAS A POST-CRASH FIRE. COUNTY SHERIFF AND CORONER WERE FIRST RESPONDERS; THEY REPORTED THE ACCIDENT TO THE NTSB WHO THEN RELAYED TO ROC. THE SHERIFF’S INITIAL ON-SITE SURVEY OBSERVED THAT THE DEBRIS FIELD FANNED OUT TOWARDS THE NORTH APPROXIMATELY 80-100 YARDS FROM THE POINT OF IMPACT. THE DEBRIS FIELD WAS APPROXIMATELY 60-70 YARDS WIDE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY FRAGMENTED.

AT 1:30 PM ON THURSDAY JULY 6, 2023, THE AEROSTAR WAS SEEN TAKING OFF FROM ITR ON A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION BY A BONANZA PILOT WHO WAS PREPARING TO TAKEOFF. HE SAID THAT THE TAKEOFF AND CLIMBOUT APPEARED NORMAL. AIRPORT CAMERA FOOTAGE OF THE RAMP AND RUNWAY RECORDED THE TAKEOFF AT 1:30 P.M.

PRIOR TO DEPARTING, THE ACCIDENT PILOT AND THE BONANZA PILOT WERE CONVERSING IN THE FBO LOUNGE AREA AWAITING THE FOG TO CLEAR; WEATHER AT THE AIRPORT THAT MORNING WAS OVERCAST, RAINY, AND FOGGY AND FORECAST TO START CLEARING AT 2:00 P.M. THE AEROSTAR PILOT STATED HE WAS GOING ABOUT AS FAR WEST AS HE CAN AND THAT HIS DESTINATION WAS CALIFORNIA. HE ALSO SAID THAT AIRCRAFT GPS PROBLEMS WOULD PREVENT HIM FROM FLYING IFR AND HE WOULD HAVE TO FLY VFR. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF A FLIGHT PLAN BEING FILED. THIS CONVERSATION WAS CONFIRMED BY AIRPORT CAMERA RECORDING OF THE FBO LOUNGE AREA ON JULY 6, 2023, FROM 11:00 TO 11:15 A.M.

THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY AT THE CRASH SITE SAID HE LIVED APPROXIMATELY A MILE SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT AND OPERATED A SHOP APPROXIMATELY A MILE NORTHWEST OF THE CRASH SITE. HE TRAVELED BACK AND FORTH ON THE DAY OF THE CRASH BETWEEN 12:00 P.M. AND 4:00 P.M. HE SAID THE WEATHER NEAR THE AIRPORT SEEMED TO BE CLEARING, BUT THE FOG AT HIS SHOP WAS THICK AND VISIBILITY WAS LESS THAN A MILE. HE SAID THERE ARE WIND TURBINES ON HIS PROPERTY NEAR THE CRASH SITE AND THEY WERE OBSCURED BY THE FOG.

## 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 CEN23FA285](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23FA285), Jul 6, 2023: Piper PA-60-601P (N100PB), Burlington, CO, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a loss of control in flight and subsequent impact with terrain.

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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