- Date
- August 6, 1991, 07:22 local (13:22 UTC)
- Place
- Hygiene, CO
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Other
- Aircraft
- N3185TCessna 177
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910806032059A
- Case key
- 18029
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
Suicide. A factor related to the accident was: the pilot's other psychological condition.
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 pilot made a distress call, giving his position and saying that he was 'going in.' The weather was VFR. The airplane struck a 5600 ft mountain at the 5530 ft level in a wings level attitude. Impact occurred on a steep rock walled area of the mountain at high speed. The engine controls were positioned for powered flight. The pilot left his autobiography, medical history, and his wife's death certificate in his parked car. The pilot's medical history indicated his depression over the recent death of his wife & his concern about deteriorating health. The pilot's son said his father planned to commit suicide in his airplane. A death certificate, issued by the county coroner, listed the pilot's death as a 'suicide.' Toxicology test results from the pilot's liver & kidney tissue indicated the presence of fluoxetine, which is an ingredient of prozac (product name), a prescription antidepressant medication.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3185T
- Reported as
- Cessna 177
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17700485
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bernzen, George G.
- Departed
- 1V5 · Boulder, 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
- 71
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,683 total · 12 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 75 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- BJC, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.