# NTSB DEN00LA177: Cessna 340, N388SP, Broomfield, CO, September 23, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 22, 2000, 22:00 local (Sep 23, 2000, 04:00 UTC) - Place: Broomfield, CO - Coordinates: 39.940189, -105.06044 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.9402&lon=-105.0604&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 5 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 6, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 50343 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN00LA177 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/50343/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=50343 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN00LA177 ## Probable cause The pilot landing the aircraft hard exceeding the design stress limits. Factors were: Low ceiling, freezing rain, dark night, excessive descent rate, and improper glide path. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - weather condition - low ceiling (contributing factor) - weather condition - freezing rain (contributing factor) - light condition - dark night (contributing factor) - proper descent rate - exceeded, pilot in command (contributing factor) - design stress limits of aircraft - exceeded, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis At the completion of an on-demand air taxi flight carrying four passengers, a ILS approach was conducted followed by a hard landing which damaged the landing gear, both wings, and the tips of the left propeller blades. Lighting conditions were dark night. Weather during the approach/landing was 200-foot obscuration, 1/2-mile visibility in freezing drizzle and mist. The wind was from 360 degrees magnetic heading at 10 knots and the altimeter was 30.03 inches of mercury. The recorded temperature and dew point were both 34 degrees Fahrenheit. ## Factual narrative On September 22, 2000, at 2200 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 340, N388SP, operated by Star West Aviation, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in a hard landing at Jefferson County Airport, Broomfield, Colorado. The commercial pilot and the four passengers were not injured. The flight was an on-demand air taxi flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 135 and an IFR flight plan was filed. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for this passenger flight, which originated from Rock Springs, Wyoming, at 2030. According to the pilot, at the conclusion of an instrument landing system approach, he made a hard landing. The left main tire was blown, the main struts were flat, the upper and lower skin around both wing roots was rippled, and the tips of the left propeller blades were damaged. The damage was discovered during post flight inspection after the aircraft was parked on the ramp. Jefferson County Airport recorded weather at the time of the accident was 200-foot sky obscured, visibility 1/2 mile with freezing drizzle and mist. The wind was from 360 degrees magnetic heading at 10 knots and the altimeter was 30.03 inches of mercury. The recorded temperature and dew point were both 34 degrees Fahrenheit. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N388SP](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N388SP), registered now, S/N 340-0337 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 340 - Registry model: [Cessna 340](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-340) (registry code 2076404) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental TSIO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (registry code 17040, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 0337 - Airframe hours: 3488 - Engines: Continental 520N 310 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Operator: Star West Aviation - Registered owner: Spur Aircraft, LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, September 10, 2000, 15 hours before - Departed: RKS, ROCK SPRINGS, WY - Destination: BJC - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: BJC, Jefferson County, runway 29R, 9,000 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 32; commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 2,863 total, 157 in this make and model, 2,598 as pilot in command, 320 in the last 90 days, 102 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Instrument (IMC), Night/dark - Wind: 360° at 10 knots - Visibility: 0.5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 200 ft - Temperature: 34 °F, dew point 34 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: BJC, 1 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20000922015459A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000922015459A), Sep 22, 2000: Cessna 340CESSNA, Denver, CO, No damage. (-23) On September 22, 2000, at 2200 MDT, a Cessna 340, N388SP, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in a hard landing at jefferson county… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 1, 2001, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=50343. 398 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 350 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40422465&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Supplement S (item 2, .PDF, 48 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40131498&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Supplement%20S-Master.PDF 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.