- Date
- January 1, 1994, 12:24 local (19:24 UTC)
- Place
- La Veta, CO
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 2 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N53049Cessna 177RG
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940101000089A
- Case key
- 18877
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 improper inflight decision to enter a mountain pass at an inadequate altitude, causing the aircraft's climb performance to be exceeded. Factors were turbulence and downdrafts.
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 entered 9,380-foot La Veta pass at 8,000 feet MSL. He said he encountered turbulence and downdrafts as he approached the summit, and the airplane 'couldn't generate any lift' and stalled. Moments after the accident, another pilot reported occasional moderate to extreme turbulence in the vicinity.
Factual narrative
History of flight
On January 1, 1994, approximately 1224 mountain standard time, a Cessna 177RG, N53049, was destroyed when it struck trees near the top of 9,380-foot La Veta Pass, about 11 miles northwest of La Veta, Colorado. The pilot and one passenger were seriously injured, two passengers received minor injuries, and another passenger was uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight.
The following is based on the Pilot/Operator report and a telephone interview with the pilot. According to the weather briefing he obtained prior to departure, only light to moderate turbulence around the Broomfield area was forecast. As the airplane passed Pueblo, Colorado, the Denver Automated Flight Service Station advised the pilot of "light chop" in the area. The flight was uneventful until they entered La Veta Pass at 8000 feet. Approaching the summit, they encountered turbulence and downdrafts. He said the airplane "couldn't generate any lift" and stalled. The airplane struck aspen trees and travelled approximately 100 feet on a magnetic heading of 265 degrees before coming to rest in an inverted attitude.
Meteorological information
At 1220, a Beech 35 pilot, flying at 12,500 feet MSL, filed a pilot report (PIREP), in which he reported light turbulence and altocumulus standing lenticular clouds northwest of La Veta Pass. Ten minutes later, the pilot filed another PIREP, reporting occasional moderate turbulence and 1500 feet per minute up and downdrafts west of the pass. At 1259, the pilot filed a third PIREP, reporting extreme turbulence, and noted he was "almost
turned upside down" southeast of La Veta Pass in the Sangre de Cristos mountain range.
Additional information
The wreckage was released to the owner's representative on January 2, 1994.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53049
- Reported as
- Cessna 177RG
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 177RG1331
- Airframe hours
- 5,542
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- R&R Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 10, 1993 · 27 hours before
- Departed
- BJC · Broomfield, CO
- Destination
- ALS · Alamosa, 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
- 39
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 205 total · 20 in this make and model · 11 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 9 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ALS, 32 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.
Other investigations on N53049 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.