DEN83FA039

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172A · Leadville, CO · December 26, 1982

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report
Date
December 26, 1982, 08:30 local (15:30 UTC)
Place
Leadville, CO
Injuries
1 fatal, 3 serious
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Initial climb
Aircraft
N7611TCessna 172A
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report December 26, 1983
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19821226066729A
Case key
71399

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Loss of control - in flightTakeoff - initial climb
Wing - iceCause
Ice/frost removal from aircraft - inadequatePilot in commandCause
Airspeed(vs) - not obtainedPilot in command
Aborted takeoff - not performedPilot in commandCause
Stall - inadvertentPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with terrain/waterDescent - uncontrolled
Terrain condition - snow covered

Analysis

When a witness arrived at the arpt, the acft was at the fuel pumps & the plt had the preheater attached. The witness rprtd there was frost on the acft & the plt brushed the loose frost off with his hands. The plt asked for a window scraper, which was provided, but the witness did not know what he did with it. Aft refueling, the plt started the eng & remained on the ramp a short time bfr taxiing. A tkof was initiated from the 5300 ft rwy in calm wnd conds. The elev & temp were 9927 ft MSL & 2 deg f. reportedly, the acft rolled for more than 3/4 of the rwy length before bcmg airborne. The witness rprtd that after lift-off, the acft did not gain altitude, but remained low, bgn a lft turn, then went down. Another witness obsvd the acft fall from a low alt & crash in a lft wing low attitude. A pax rprtd the plane seemed to slow dwn & lose alt aft tkof, as if it was too hvy. However, disregarding any frost/ice, the acft was estimated 88 lbs blo the max wt lmt. No preimpact, mechanical failure were found with the airframe or eng.

Aircraft

Registration
N7611T
Reported as
Cessna 172A
Category
Airplane
Serial number
47211
Airframe hours
3,489
Engine
Continental O-300-C, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Thomas A. Hardy
Registered owner
Thomas A. Hardy
Departed
LXV · Leadville, CO
Destination
36U · Heber City, UT
Airport
LXV · Lake County, runway 34, 5,300 × 75 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
30
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Flight hours
324 total · 324 in this make and model · 294 as pilot in command

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
30 statute miles
Temperature
36 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
LXV

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Other investigations on N7611T · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.