- Date
- July 19, 1989, 08:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Crested Butte, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5673WPiper PA-28-160
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890719024219A
- Case key
- 17751
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain sufficient altitude while flying over mountainous terrain. The terrain and weather conditions were related factors.
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 reported that during flt at 11,300 ft MSL near a 12,516 ft mountain, he saw a herd of elk. He made a left turn to return to the mountain. He said the plane encountered a downdraft that produced a 500 fpm rate of descent. The plt applied full power, but could not stop the descent. He saw a clear area near the 10,000 ft level & elected to land. During the landing, both wings, the fuselage and the landing gear were damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5673W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-160
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-867
- Airframe hours
- 2,558
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Peter M. Nadon
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 11, 1989 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- 3V6 · Crested Butte, CO
- Destination
- GUC · Gunnison, 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
- 28
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 603 total · 394 in this make and model · 536 as pilot in command · 98 in the last 90 days · 49 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.