- Date
- December 30, 1992, 19:00 local (Dec 31, 1992, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Aurora, CO
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7469ECessna 210
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921230052579A
- Case key
- 18244
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
Collision with terrain when the pilot inadvertently flew into fog while conducting a visual approach. Factors were: inaccurate weather evaluation by the pilot and lack of familiarity with the geographic area.
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
While on a cross country flight into an uncontrolled airport, at which the weather was IFR due to fog, the non instrument rated pilot inadvertently descended into the ground during base turn on approach when he entered the fog. Terrain was an open snow covered field. This was the pilot's first flight into this airport. The nearest reporting station at the time was denver stapleton international airport which was reporting 6,000 foot scattered clouds. This information was given to the pilot by denver approach control.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7469E
- Reported as
- Cessna 210
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 57169
- Airframe hours
- 2,366
- Engine
- Continental IO-470-D, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ripplinger, Richard F.
- Registered owner
- Ripplinger, Richard F.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 7, 1991 · 125 hours before
- Departed
- DVT · Phoenix, AZ
- Airport
- FTG · Front Range
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
- 54
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 707 total · 707 in this make and model · 651 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- 100 ft
- Temperature
- 18 °F, dew point 12 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FTG, 1 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.