DEN83FA214

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna R172K · Silverton, CO · September 8, 1983

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report
Date
September 8, 1983, 06:30 local (12:30 UTC)
Place
Silverton, CO
Injuries
1 fatal
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N758PBCessna R172K
Weather
Instrument (IMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19830908047829A
Case key
16000

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

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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.

In flight encounter with weatherCruise - normal
Flight into known adverse weather - initiatedPilot in commandFactor
Lack of total instrument timePilot in commandFactor
Weather condition - cloudsFactor
Weather condition - low ceilingFactor
Weather condition - obscurationFactor
Vfr flight into imc - continuedPilot in commandCause
Loss of control - in flightCruise
Aircraft handling - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
Spatial disorientationPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with terrain/waterDescent - uncontrolled
Terrain condition - mountainous/hillyFactor

Analysis

The plt departed longmont, CO at about 0520 MDT. At 0617 MDT, he contacted the denver en route flt advisory service & received wx info. The location of the acft at that time was not determined. No further radio communications were received from the plt. A search was initiated when the acft did not arrive at its destination. It was found on 9/9/83 where it impacted in mountainous terrain at an elevation of about 12,500 ft. impact occurred on steep, rocky terrain. An exam of the wreckage revealed the acft had crashed in a right wing low, nose down attitude while at a high rate of speed. No evidence of a preimpact/mechanical malfunction or failure was found. There were no known witnesses. However, personnel in the vicinity stated that the sky was overcast, cloud bases were at about 10,000 ft, the mountains were obscured & light drizzle was falling.

Aircraft

Registration
N758PB
Reported as
Cessna R172K
Category
Airplane
Serial number
R1723242
Airframe hours
1,577
Engine
Continental IO-360-KB, 195 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Business · Part 91
Registered owner
Clifford Judson
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
100 hour · August 1, 1983 · 77 hours before
Departed
2V2 · Longmont, CO
Destination
DRO · Durango, CO
Flight plan
VFR

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
51
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Seat
Left
Flight hours
196 total · 36 in this make and model · 127 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Instrument (IMC) · Day
Wind
260° at 17 knots

FAA reports on this event · 1

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