DEN84FA225

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-32 · Alma, CO · December 14, 1983

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report
Date
December 14, 1983, 00:00 local (07:00 UTC)
Place
Alma, CO
Injuries
3 fatal
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N47403Piper PA-32
Weather
Instrument (IMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19831214061619A
Case key
16231

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
Self-induced pressurePilot in commandFactor
Terrain condition - high terrainFactor
Weather condition - cloudsFactor
Weather condition - low ceilingFactor
Vfr flight into imc - inadvertentPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with terrain/waterCruise
Terrain condition - mountainous/hillyFactor
Terrain condition - risingFactor

Analysis

The plt, his brother & his sister-in-law were on a flt to attend his mother's funeral. Before taking off, the pilot received a wx briefing & was advised that VFR flt was not recommended. The plt then asked for wx reports for a southerly route & he was advised that the mountain tops were obscured on that route. He then indicated that he would try & that maybe the weather would clear enough for him to get thru. Subsequently, the acft crashed on the side of mt democrat, a 14,286 ft mountain, at the 13,800 ft level. There was evidence that the acft impacted in near level flt. No preimpact part failure or malfunction was found that would have contributed to the accident. The area forecast called for mountains & higher terrain to be occasionally obscured in clouds & precip; rocky mountains 3000 to 6000 ft thru 20,000 ft with occasional ceilings below 1000 ft & visibility below 3 miles in snow & fog.

Aircraft

Registration
N47403
Reported as
Piper PA-32
Category
Airplane
Serial number
32R-7880005
Engine
Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Larry M. Killpack
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
APA · Englewood, CO
Destination
SLC · Salt Lake City, UT
Flight plan
VFR

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
58
Certificates
Flight instructor, Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Left
Toxicology
Performed

Weather

Conditions
Instrument (IMC) · Day

FAA reports on this event · 1

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