- Date
- August 16, 1999, 09:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Aspen, CO
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N991RCPiper PA-32-260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 2, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990816040569A
- Case key
- 47098
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
The pilot's inadequate in flight planning. Factors were the high density altitude, the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing, and the sign post that the right wing impacted.
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 said that he departed runway 33 at Aspen, turned right crosswind, and headed towards the pass. He said that when he got above 11,000 feet msl, 'the airplane really got mushy.' He said that he believed that he wasn't going to make it over the pass (elevation 12,095 feet), so he landed straight ahead. During the landing on brush covered rising mountainous terrain, the right wing impacted a sign post wing and the airplane spun 180 degrees. The density altitude at the accident site was 13,136 feet.
Factual narrative
On August 16, 1999, at 0930 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-32-260, N991RC, was destroyed during a forced landing on Independence Pass, near Aspen, Colorado. The instrument rated private pilot and his two passengers received minor injuries. The airplane was being operated by the owner under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country personal flight which originated from Aspen approximately 45 minutes before the accident. No flight plan had been filed.
The pilot said that he departed runway 33 at Aspen, turned right crosswind, and headed towards the Pass. He said that when he got above 11,000 feet above mean sea level(MSL), "the airplane really got mushy." He said that he believed he was not going to make it over the Pass (elevation 12,095 feet), so he landed straight ahead. During the landing on brush covered rising mountainous terrain, the right wing impacted a sign post and the airplane spun around 180 degrees. Both the wings, the engine, and the landing gear separated from the fuselage.
The density altitude at the accident site was computed to be 13,136 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N991RC
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7400030
- Airframe hours
- 3,725
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-E4B5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robin V. Clearman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 22, 1999 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- ASE
- Destination
- SGR · Sugar Land, TX
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 910 total · 756 in this make and model · 862 as pilot in command · 58 in the last 90 days · 39 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ASE, 16 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.