DEN06FA132

The airplane was on the final leg of a cross-country flight to Telluride, Colorado. Denver Center picked up the airplane on radar approximately 38 miles northwest of Taos, New Mexico, heading toward Pagosa Springs, Colorado, at 15,800 feet. Just southeast of Pagosa Springs, the airplane turned toward the southwest. Approximately 5 minutes later, the airplane resumed a west-northwesterly course toward the Telluride area. Approximately 25 miles south of the Telluride Regional Airport, the airplane made a turn to the north. The airplane had descended to 15,000 feet. One minute later, radar showed the airplane in a 600 foot-per-minute descent that eventually took the airplane below 14,000 feet. Approximately 12 miles south of the airport, the airplane turned to the west-northwest. The airplane was at 13,900 feet on a course toward Wilson Peak and the Lizard Head Pass area. Approximately 3 miles southeast of Wilson Peak (elevation 14,246 feet), radar showed the airplane enter a 2,000 foot-per-minute descent. The airplane's groundspeed increased from 149 to 260 knots. The airplane leveled off momentarily at 13,400 feet and then entered a 2,000 foot-per-minute climb. The airplane's groundspeed was 191 knots. Approximately 12 seconds later, radar contact with the airplane was lost. At last contact, the airplane was at 13,500 feet and within 1 mile of the southeast face of Wilson Peak. Rescue teams located the airplane near the summit of Wilson Peak the following day. Airplane wreckage was located on all sides of the mountain. An examination of the wreckage at the scene showed no pre-impact anomalies. A meteorological study of weather conditions around Wilson Peak at the time of the accident indicated the potential for severe turbulence and rotors.

History of flight

On September 15, 2006, approximately 1033 mountain daylight time, a Beech 35-C33, N5893J, piloted by a commercial pilot , was destroyed when during cruise flight the airplane impacted mountainous terrain, 9 miles southwest of Telluride, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and three passengers on board were fatally injured. The cross-country flight originated at Taos, New Mexico, at 0902, and was en route to Telluride.

An employee for Taos Aviation Services in Taos, New Mexico, said the airplane arrived there approximately 0830. He said the airplane pulled right up to the gas pumps. The pilot fueled the airplane. The fuel ticket from the transaction showed the pilot on loaded 56 gallons of 100 low lead gas. The time on the ticket was 0852. The employee said that he spoke with the pilot prior to them taking off. The pilot told him that they were flying up to Telluride to attend the Blues and Brews Festival. The employee asked the pilot if he'd ever flown into Telluride before. The pilot told him that he'd been into the airport about a month earlier. The employee said that he and the pilot talked about the festival and then the pilot and the three passengers got back into the airplane and left. The employee said he noticed nothing out of the ordinary with the pilot.

National Track Analysis Program (NTAP) data compiled by the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center showed the airplane operating on a VFR (visual flight rules) Mode C transponder code of 1-2-0-0. The airplane was picked up on radar at 0941:34, approximately 38 nautical miles northwest of Taos, New Mexico, at an altitude of 13,900 feet on a 293-degree heading, tracking toward Pagosa Springs, Colorado. At 0951:29, the airplane leveled off at 15,800 feet mean sea level (msl). NTAP recorded groundspeeds en route averaged approximately 128 knots.

At 1003:10, approximately 5 miles southwest of Stevens Field (2V1), Pagosa Springs, Colorado, the airplane turned southwest on a 214-degree heading. The airplane remained on that heading for approximately 5 minutes. At 1008:26, the airplane turned west-northwest on a 306-degree heading. Between 1004:46 and 1022:02, the airplane made a gradual descent to 15,000 feet msl.

At 1025:13, the airplane began a turn toward the north and the Telluride Airport. The airplane rolled out on a 348-degree heading, and maintained 15,000 feet. At 1026:01, the airplane began a gradual descent from 15,000 feet at a descent rate of approximately 600 feet per minute. Between 1030:52 and 1031:11, the airplane descended through 14,000 feet.

At 1031:40, the airplane made a turn back to the west-northwest. The airplane was at 13,900 feet. The airplane maintained a 297-degree course toward Wilson Peak and the Lizard Head Pass area.

At 1032:34, the airplane showed level at 13,400 feet msl. At 1032:44, the airplane began a 600 foot-per-minute climb. At 1633:03, and at 13,500 feet msl, the airplane showed a descent rate of 2,000 feet per minute. The airplane's groundspeed showed an increase from 149 knots to 260 knots. At 1633:06, the airplane showed level at 13,400 feet, a vertical velocity of zero, and a groundspeed of 144 knots. At 1633:13, the airplane showed being in a 2,000 foot per minute climb and a groundspeed of 191 knots. At 1633:16, the airplane was at 13,500 feet and a groundspeed of 258 knots. The airplane's last radar contact was at 1633:25. The airplane's position was at latitude 37-degrees, 51.26 minutes north, and longitude 107-degrees, 58.45 minutes west, in the immediate vicinity of Wilson Peak, elevation 14, 246 feet (aeronautical chart depiction). At the point where radar contact was lost, NTAP data showed the airplane at an altitude of 13,500 feet.

Personnel information

The 27-year old pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with single-engine land, instrument airplane privileges.

The pilot held a second class medical certificate dated March 16, 2006. The certificate showed no limitations or restrictions.

A logbook showing the pilot's most recent flying time was not located. According to Federal Aviation Administration aeromedical records, at his last examination, the pilot reported having 1,500 total flying hours and 300 hours in the 6 months prior to the examination.

Two pilot logbooks were provided by the pilot's family. The logbooks covered a time period from July 2, 2003 through March 30, 2005. The logbooks showed mostly recorded time in flight simulators. The logbooks also showed recorded "second-in-command" time in a BE-55. The first entry that showed pilot-in-command time logged in an airplane was found in the first logbook and was dated October 31, 2003. As best determined from the logbooks, as of March 30, 2005, the pilot had logged 416.9 total flying hours, 285.8 hours as pilot-in-command, and 24.5 hours in actual instrument conditions. The next to last entry in the pilot's second logbook, dated March 13, 2005, showed the pilot logged 2.4 hours in the accident airplane. This was the only entry in either logbook that showed the pilot had recorded flight time in the 35-C33. No endorsements were found in either logbook.

Aircraft information

The airplane was a 1965 Beech 35-C33 "Debonair," serial number CD-921. The most recent registration was dated December 10, 2001. The standard airworthiness certificate showed the airplane approved for operation in the utility category. The airplane was privately-owned and was being operated by a flying club for business and personal uses. The airplane was based at the Addison Airport, Addison, Texas.

Aircraft logbooks indicated the airplane was placed in service on June 18, 1965. On August 8, 1996, the airplane's original engine was replaced with a rebuilt, zero-timed, Teledyne Continental IO-550-B12-B engine, serial number 296884-R. Aircraft and engine logbooks indicated at the time of the engine installation that the total airframe time was 4,562.8 hours.

The airplane's engine was overhauled on April 12, 2006. The tachometer time reading at the engine overhaul was 2,735 hours.

An annual inspection was conducted on June 5, 2006. The tachometer time reading recorded at the annual inspection was 2,780.0 hours.

The last entries in the aircraft and engine logbooks were made on August 25, 2006, at a 100-hour inspection. The tachometer reading recorded at the inspection was 2,879.0 hours.

A 6-inch, by 12-inch black zippered notebook was recovered from the accident site. It contained maintenance squawks for the airplane. The legible pages had "RFC, Dallas, Inc." as the header. The notebook listed the airplane as N5896J and the owner as Mr. Stuart Thompson. It also listed several telephone numbers. Some of the comments that could made out from the notebook included:

- New Millennium cylinder engine put back on line.

- On a page listed as "Oil - Tach - Hobbs Time," it showed:

-- On 9/5/2006 - Member Dinham, tach time 2928.62, hobbs time 2606.6, flight time 5.8 hours.

-- On 9/13 - Member Gamron, tach time 2953.00, hobbs time 2631.3, flight time 2.3 hours.

Meteorological information

The routine aviation weather report (METAR) at 1030 for the Telluride Regional Airport (TEX), Telluride, Colorado, 9 miles to the northeast of the accident site was ceilings 4,900 feet (above ground level ) broken, 6,500 feet overcast, visibility 10 miles with light rain, temperature 54 degrees Fahrenheit (F), dew point 41-degrees F, winds calm, altimeter 30.08 inches, and remarks, lightning in the distance north and northwest of the airport. The field elevation at TEX is 9,078 feet mean sea level.

A Sheriff's Department supervisor said that on the day of the accident there were cloud banks all ove