DEN01FA111

The pilot joined a flying club and got a checkout in a PA-28-161, an airplane which he had never flown before. He was told not to fly the airplane cross-country but to fly locally for an additional 5 hours. Although the airplane had been upgraded from a 160 to a 180 horsepower engine, he was told not to fly it with three adult passengers aboard. The pilot scheduled the airplane for 2 days. He obtained a "standard" weather briefing for a VFR flight from Reno, NV, to Hawthorne, NV, and an "outlook" weather briefing for Denver, CO. He filed a VFR flight plan to Hawthorne, but there is no record that he flew to Hawthorne. The airplane, with the pilot and 3 adult passengers on board, was reported missing. Six days later, fishermen found airplane debris floating in Upper Marvine Lake, located about 30 miles east of Meeker, CO. The debris was identified as having come from the missing airplane. The airplane had stopped in Meeker for fuel, and was en route to the Denver area. The wreckage was recovered, and examination disclosed no discrepancies with the airframe, engine, and propeller. The airplane was estimated to have been 111 pounds overweight when it departed Meeker, elevation 6,421 feet msl. Toxicological tests revealed the pilot had amphetamine and methamphetamine in blood and urine. The levels found in the blood were high, suggestive of regular use and probable addiction. The effects of methamphetamine include increased alertness, euphoria, insomnia, and increased self-confidence. Long-term use could lead to paranoia, loss of physical coordination, and weight loss. If use were to be discontinued, within hours a regular user might experience severe withdrawal symptoms, including depression, fatigue, abdominal cramps, and headache. Overdoses may result in loss of consciousness or seizures. Regular users can tolerate high doses. The levels found in the blood indicate the pilot had recently used methamphetamine and was impaired by its effect. This could have led him to attempt maneuvers beyond his abilities. Although possible but not likely, the pilot could have had an acute event resulting in incapacitation, such as fainting or seizure.

History of flight

On May 29, 2001, approximately 1525 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161, N5999V, was destroyed when it impacted water and sank to the bottom of Upper Marvine Lake, approximately 32 nautical miles east of Meeker, Colorado. The private pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91.The flight originated at Meeker, Colorado, approximately 1500, and was en route to Jefferson County Airport, Broomfield, Colorado.

According to Nevada-Cal Aero Flying Service documents, the pilot joined the Reno-based flying club on May 27, 2001. A flight instructor was assigned to administer a "club checkout" to "access (sic) the pilot proficiency for insurance purposes." The pilot told the instructor that most of his flight time had been accrued in Cessna 152s and 172s, and that he had never flown the PA-28-161. The instructor told him that the PA-28-161 was normally powered by a 160 horsepower engine, "but because of density altitude considerations," the airplane had been upgraded to a 180 horsepower engine. He was also told that the PA-28-161 "was not a 4 place airplane and under no circumstances [was he] to place 4 adults into this plane." The pilot was also told that in addition to the club checkout, he would need to log an additional 5 hours of "local flying time" before he could fly the airplane cross-country. The pilot said that he had scheduled the airplane on May 29 for that purpose. The checkout was satisfactory and the instructor gave the pilot the combination to the "lock box" containing the keys to the various airplanes.

According to the club's flight schedule, the pilot had scheduled the airplane from 0830 to 1730 on May 29 and all of May 30. According to a club memo, the accident pilot took the airplane on May 29 before his scheduled time, "bumping" a club member from the 0600 to 0830 time slot, and "bumping" another club member from the 1730 to 2030 time slot. "He made no mention at any time that he intended to leave the area, and absolutely no mention of taking the airplane to Colorado," the instructor wrote. According to a club spokesperson, the accident flight was an "unauthorized flight."

According to family sources, the pilot and his passengers were en route to Denver to attend the second game of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils professional hockey teams. FAA documents indicate that on May 29 at 0429, the pilot telephoned the Reno Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) and requested an "outlook" weather briefing from Reno, Nevada, to Denver, Colorado, and a "standard" weather briefing from Reno to Hawthorne, Nevada. He was told that the only AIRMET (Aeronautical Meteorology) in effect was for IFR conditions throughout the eastern third of Colorado. Ceilings and visibilities were forecast to be below 1,000 feet and 3 miles, respectively, and VFR flight was not recommended. At the time of the briefing, Broomfield-Jefferson County Airport (Jeffco, BJC) was reporting VFR conditions with thunderstorms to the south and moving south. The pilot then requested and was given the winds aloft for Reno, Salt Lake City, Utah, Grand Junction, Colorado, and Denver. The briefing was terminated at 0434.

At 0642, the pilot telephoned Reno AFSS again and filed a VFR flight plan from Reno to Hawthorne. The pilot indicated he would depart Reno at 0600 and cruise at 7,500 feet and 120 knots. He estimated the time en route would be 1 hour, 30 minutes, and said he had 4 hours, 30 minutes of fuel on board. The call was terminated at 0646.

FAA documents indicate N5999V departed Reno at 0726, but do not indicate whether the VFR flight plan was activated or when the airplane arrived in Hawthorne. There was no record of the airplane arriving in Hawthorne. FAA records did not contain any other flight plan filed by the pilot. It was later determined that the pilot stopped in Meeker for fuel. According to a fuel receipt from Coulter Aviation, the airplane was serviced with 19.8 gallons of 100-LL avgas. The transaction was recorded at 1458. A local pilot said he watched the pilot make a downwind takeoff. He said the airplane "struggled" for altitude.

When the occupants failed to contact family members that evening, FAA was notified that the airplane was overdue and an alert notice (ALNOT) was issued at 2324. The Civil Air Patrol initiated an aerial search on May 30. On June 4, 2001, fishermen found debris floating in Upper Marvine Lake in the Flat Tops Primitive Area of the White River National Forest. The debris was taken to the Rio Blanco Sheriff's Office and, on June 6th, it was positively identified as having come from N5999V.

The accident occurred during the hours of daylight at a location of 39 degrees, 56.50' north latitude, and 107 degrees, 22.18' west longitude.

Personnel information

The 38-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating, dated May 28, 1996. He also held a first class airman medical certificate, dated on May 22, 1999. According to his application for membership with Nevada-Cal Aero Flying Service, dated May 27, 2001, his total flight time was 282.7 hours, of which 2.8 hours were accrued in the previous 90 days. The last entry in a logbook recovered from the wreckage, dated October 27, 1999, indicated the pilot had accumulated 258 total flight hours, of which 144.7 hours were as pilot-in-command. A more recent logbook was not located.

Aircraft information

N5999V (s/n 28-7716223), a model PA-28-161, was manufactured by the Piper Aircraft Corporation in 1977. The original engine (160 horsepower) had been removed and replaced with a Textron Lycoming O-360-A4M engine (s/n L-21495-36A), rated at 180 horsepower, and a Sensenich 2-blade, all-metal, fixed-pitch propeller (m/n 76EM8-0-60) in accordance with a supplemental type certificate. Despite the O-320-A1A engine weighing 230 pounds and the O-360-A4M engine weighing 250 pounds, the removal and installation instructions contained the statement: "No change to maximum gross weight or center of gravity limits will be made."

The following entries were made in the airplane maintenance records:

Inspection 100-hour annual

Date May 3, 2001 January 25, 2001

Total time, airframe 8,731.58 hours 8,623.57 hours

Total time, engine 6,734.57 hours 6,626.56 hours

Time since major overhaul 1,977.57 hours 1,869.56 hours

Tachometer 3,244.41 hours 3,136.40 hours

Hobbs meter Not reported 828.2 hours

At the accident site, the tachometer and Hobbs meter registered 3,289.76 and 1,002.8 hours, respectively.

The ELT (emergency locator transmitter) battery was replaced on June 8, 2000, and was due to expire in March 2004. The airplane was last certified for IFR flight on March 31, 1999.

Meteorological information

The following weather observation was recorded at Meeker (EEO) at 1517:

Wind, 290 degrees at 11 knots, gusts to 21 knots; visibility, (greater than) 10 statute miles; sky condition, clear; temperature, 23 degrees C. (73.4 degrees F.); dew point, -2 degrees C. (28.4 degrees F.); altimeter setting, 30.02; remarks, wind shifted at 1457.

Wreckage and impact information

Upper Marvine Lake is situated approximately 9,300 feet msl, and is approximately a 3-1/2 hour horseback ride from the nearest road. Because motorized equipment is prohibited in a wilderness area, permission had to be obtained from the U.S. Forest Service to ferry in retrieval equipment and personnel by helicopter.

On June 6, 2001, a remote underwater camera located the airplane in approximately 43 feet of water. The camera showed the airplane lying on its left side. The left and right wings, cowling, and empennage were separated from the airframe. Salvage operations commenced on June 9, 2001, and the wreckage was