DEN83FA058

NTSB accident investigation · North American T-28A · N. Winter Park, CO · February 12, 1983

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report
Date
February 12, 1983, 14:53 local (21:53 UTC)
Place
N. Winter Park, CO
Injuries
1 fatal, 1 serious
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Maneuvering
Aircraft
N28TWNorth American T-28A
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19830212003479A
Case key
15970

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 flightManeuvering
Low pass - initiatedPilot in commandFactor
Weather condition - high density altitudeFactor
Terrain condition - high terrainFactor
Altitude - misjudgedPilot in commandCause
Airspeed - inadequatePilot in commandCause
Stall/mush - inadvertentPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with objectManeuvering
Object - tree(s)Factor
In flight collision with terrain/waterDescent - uncontrolled
Terrain condition - mountainous/hillyFactor
Terrain condition - snow coveredFactor

Analysis

According to the surviving passenger (the plt's 15 yr old son), they saw some skiers after crossing over a mountain pass. He stated that as they turned, his father said, 'let's buzz them.' He reported that they turned sharply, 'sort of dove down to buzz them,' then that was all he could remember. According to one of the skiers that was familiar with T-28 acft, they heard & saw the T-28 cross rollins pass at aprx 300 to 350 ft AGL. As the acft passed, they waved at it & then the plt responded (they believed) by rocking his wings. Soon after that, the acft went into a steep left bank as if to turn back toward them. The witness reported that the acft was turning at a constant altitude, when the nose suddenly dropped. The plt leveled the wings & the acft started a dive, then disappeared from his view, behind a ridge. He heard popping sounds that he thought sounded like a T-28 having had the throttle moved rapidly. An investigation revealed the acft had collided with trees & crashed. No preimpact/mechanical failures found.

Aircraft

Registration
N28TW
Reported as
North American T-28A
Category
Airplane
Serial number
51-3616
Airframe hours
1,225
Engine
Lyco/Wright R-1820, 800 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
844th Squadron, Incorporated
Airworthiness certificate
Special, Experimental (Special)
Last inspection
100 hour · April 20, 1982 · 125 hours before
Departed
2V2 · Longmont, CO

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
47
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Front
Toxicology
Performed
Flight hours
4,314 total · 60 in this make and model · 59 in the last 90 days · 34 in the last 30 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
300° at 30 knots
Visibility
15 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None

FAA reports on this event · 1

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