DEN06FA114

While maneuvering in night visual meteorological conditions, the airplane impacted mountainous terrain and was destroyed by impact forces. Prior to departure, the pilot obtained a weather briefing which reported thunderstorms and moderate to severe precipitation along the intended route of flight. During the flight, the pilot inquired to air traffic control on several occasions that he thought about diverting; however, he elected to continue along the route of flight until the weather conditions deteriorated to a point that he decided to divert. After diverting to an alternate airport, the pilot attempted a non-precision approach. During the approach, the pilot failed to turn on the runway lights, which were to be activated by the pilot through the UNICOM frequency. A witness observed the airplane over fly the runway and the runway lights were not illuminated. Because the pilot could not see the runway during the approach, he executed a missed approach; however, he did not fly the published missed approach procedure resulting in an impact with mountainous terrain. Rescue personnel reported that the pilot stated he was "flying last night in bad weather, it was a stupid thing to do and he should not have been flying." The accident site was located on rock and sagebrush covered terrain at an elevation of 8,350 feet approximately 4 miles west from the runway threshold. At the time of the accident, the weather conditions at the airport were reported as visibility 10 statute miles, rain, scattered clouds at 3,300 feet, and density altitude of approximately 9,500 feet. The pilot had accumulated approximately 20 hours in the accident airplane make and model, 11 night flight hours, and no actual instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) flight experience as a single pilot. No anomalies were noted with the airframe and engine.

History of flight

On August 15, 2006, approximately 2220 mountain daylight time, a Cirrus Design Corporation SR20 single-engine airplane, N8127J, was destroyed when it impacted mountainous terrain while maneuvering near Mc Elroy Airfield (20V), Kremmling, Colorado. The commercial pilot sustained serious injuries and the passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated by West Valley Flying Club, Palo Alto, California, and registered to NIV Aviation, Los Alto Hills, California. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight departed Cedar City Regional Airport (CDC), Cedar City, Utah, approximately 1900, with a planned destination of Jeffco Airport (BJC), Denver, Colorado.

According to the pilot and air traffic control (ATC) communications, prior to departure from Palo Alto (PAO), California, he obtained a standard weather briefing and filed an IFR flight plan. His plan was to fly from PAO to BJC with a planned stop at CDC to refuel. During the flight, the pilot utilized portable oxygen for the high altitude flight operations. Shortly after departure from PAO, ATC informed the pilot that the Mode C function of the transponder was not functioning. The pilot attempted to recycle the transponder; however, the attempts were unsuccessful. In addition to the Mode C problem, the pilot stated that the autopilot would not engage in the "NAV" mode, so the pilot decided to use the autopilot in the "APP" mode. The pilot continued the flight, and the airplane landed uneventfully at CDC.

During a 45-minute stop at CDC, the airplane was refueled, the pilot obtained another standard weather briefing and filed an IFR flight plan to BJC. According to the weather briefing transcript, the briefer informed the pilot of a convective SIGMET (Significant Meteorological Information) for thunderstorm activity in the mountains of Colorado. Moderate to strong weather radar echoes were reported along the pilot's intended route of flight. The pilot inquired to the briefer whether another route of flight had less thunderstorms, and the briefer responded, "no, those thunderstorms pretty much start at up toward the Rock Springs (Wyoming) area and go through to the Phoenix (Arizona) area...so it looks like no matter which way you go, you're going to be flying through something this afternoon."

According to the pilot's statement, which was taken by another individual (employee of West Valley Flying Club) and submitted to the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) as part of the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1), the pilot decided to take off, and if the weather was not good enough, he would ask for vectors around the bad weather. If he could not be vectored, he would turn around and return to CDC.

Shortly after departure from CDC, the pilot again experienced problems with the Mode C function of the transponder and the "NAV" mode for the autopilot. According to communications with Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), at 2025:05, the controller advised the pilot that an area of weather, moderate to severe precipitation, started at the pilot's 12 o'clock position in approximately 30 miles and extended for 75 miles past that point. The pilot acknowledged and requested to be rerouted around the weather. Based on the weather observation, the controller suggested the pilot divert to the south of Grand Junction, Colorado, and the pilot elected to divert to the south. At 2033:25 and an altitude of 16,000 feet mean sea level (msl), the pilot informed the controller that he was experiencing turbulence, requested alternate options, and if nothing else was possible, "we'd like to head to the nearest field and call it a day." The controller then cleared the pilot to 15,000 feet. At 2039:29, the pilot stated the turbulence was much better at that altitude and requested to continue his route as filed. At 2105:39, the pilot requested to land at Grand Junction "because the weather is just too bad..." The controller informed the pilot that Grand Junction's airport was closed due to a lightning strike and the airport lighting was not operating. The controller then reported that Rifle, Colorado, had an airport that was approximately 35 miles ahead of him. The pilot then inquired if the weather improved past Rifle, and the controller informed the pilot that he would be exiting the heavier precipitation in about 5 miles. The pilot elected to continue the flight, and then asked, "just wonder if Eagle Country Regional Airport is open, would like to keep our options open in case the weather turns (unintelligible) after Rifle."

At 2150:54, the controller informed the pilot that the minimum IFR altitude was 16,000 feet, and he cleared the pilot to climb and maintain 16,000 feet. The pilot responded, "at 15,500 feet...that's the maximum we can do..." The pilot reported that during this portion of the flight, the pitot heat was on; however, the airspeed went to 0 knots and the primary flight display (PFD) was lost. The airspeed indication on the PFD was intermittent and the engine data on the multi-function display was lost. The pilot reverted to the standby instruments and set the engine to 2,650 RPM, which resulted in a 85-90 knot airspeed at 15,000 feet. The pilot also heard 2 to 3 "piercing tones" which he thought might have been the stall warning horn or something else. He reported it was raining at the time of these events. At 2200:34, the pilot informed the controller that he just lost [the airplane's] engine sensor and he wondered what the closest field was in case he needed to divert. The controller advised the pilot that Granby, Colorado, airport was 12 miles ahead of him and Mc Elroy Airfield (20V), Kremmling, Colorado, was 12 miles behind him. The pilot told the controller he'd like to divert to Granby. The controller inquired whether the pilot was in visual flight rules (VFR) conditions, and the pilot responded in the negative. The controller stated that Granby did not have an IFR approach; however, 20V did have an IFR approach. At 2203:07, the pilot stated he was unable to maintain altitude and was descending to 14,000 feet. Shortly thereafter, the pilot requested a lower altitude; however, the controller stated the minimum IFR altitude was 14,000 feet. The pilot acknowledged and stated he was heading to 20V.

During the next 10 minutes of flight, the controller and pilot were communicating about headings, altitudes, and fixes for an approach to 20V. Radar data depicted the airplane heading to the west toward 20V, then execute a reverse in direction (east, southeast), and then a turn back toward 20V. At 2213:34, the pilot reported he was at the ZUMNY fix and descending to 9,400 feet for the final approach fix LARNE for runway 27. At 2216:49, the controller stated that 20V was at the 12 o'clock position and 3 miles ahead. At 2216:54, the pilot reported the airport in sight and the controller requested the pilot contact ATC when on the ground at 20V.

According to a witness, who was located in his residence adjacent to 20V, he observed an airplane flying over the runway in a east to west direction. The airplane was approximately 150 to 200 feet above the runway and had its position lights on, but no landing light. He stated the runway lights were not on at any time. The witness heard the airplane's engine running just above idle and observed the airplane continue to the west at a low altitude above the town. Approximately 2,000 feet beyond the runway, the witness heard the engine "rev back up", and then he stopped watching the airplane. He reported the following weather conditions at the time: not raining, winds were calm, and visibility was good.

At 2219:17, the pilot stated, "we're still in the air doing the missed approach, going arou