- Date
- January 6, 1989, 13:07 local (20:07 UTC)
- Place
- Craig, CO
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N82290Piper PA-31T
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 25, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890106000369A
- Case key
- 17661
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Unsuitable terrain (runway condition) selected by the pilot. Factors related to the accident were: the adverse weather conditions, inadequate removal of snow from the runway by airport personnel, uneven snow covered runway, lack of visual perception by the pilot, and snowbanks beside the runway.
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.
Analysis
The plt requested the snow covered rwy be replowed before he took off. He rprtd that afterward, he saw no snow ridges or evidence of uneven plowing & concluded the 'runway demarcation was adequate for takeoff.' He said that drg takeoff, at about 80 KTS, he felt the left gear drag and the airplane began to swerve left. He corrected with rudder & the airplane swerved to the right edge of the rwy. Subsequently, the plt lost control of the airplane & it continued into a snowbank & was damaged. Rprtdly, the acft swerved after encountering a 'snowridge' left by the snowplow. No pre-acdnt part failure or malfunction was rprtd.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N82290
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31T-7820058
- Airframe hours
- 2,450
- Engine
- P&W PT6A-28, 620 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Executive/Corporate · Part 91
- Operator
- Cummins Power Inc, doing business as Turbowest
- Registered owner
- Cummins Power, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · August 11, 1988 · 60 hours before
- Departed
- CAG
- Destination
- APA · Englewood, CO
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- CAG · Craig-Moffat, runway 25, 5,600 × 100 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
- 47
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,555 total · 2,300 in this make and model · 9,319 as pilot in command · 78 in the last 90 days · 32 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 5 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- 400 ft
- Temperature
- 23 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.