- Date
- March 18, 1994, 17:30 local (Mar 19, 1994, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Steamboat Sprgs, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N233DBCessna 150M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940318007199A
- Case key
- 19015
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 selection of too low an altitude in high mountainous terrain.
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 encountered strong winds aloft when he entered a mountain pass at 10,500 feet MSL. He then experienced a severe downdraft that caused an 800 foot altitude loss, putting the airplane below the ridge line. The pilot attempted to turn away from the ridge but was unable to clear the terrain. He flared the airplane to reduce forward airspeed and impacted deep snow.
Factual narrative
On March 18, 1994, at 1730 mountain standard time, a Cessna 150M, N233DB, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain about 10 miles northeast of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to the pilot, the wind was strong when he entered a mountain pass at 10,500 feet MSL (mean sea level). In his pilot/operator report, he wrote: "I encountered a severe downdraft, causing me to lose 800 feet. I was now looking up at the ridge that I was looking down on only seconds before. I attempted to turn away from the ridge but it was too late. I flared just before impact reducing my forward speed. The plane came to rest on a fairly flat spot some 100 feet from the top of the ridge."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N233DB
- Reported as
- Cessna 150M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15079036
- Airframe hours
- 2,288
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Willbur, Gerald R & Rosemary L
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 28, 1993 · 97 hours before
- Departed
- SNY · Sidney, NE
- Destination
- CAG · Craig, CO
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 59
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 389 total · 127 in this make and model · 69 in the last 90 days · 38 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SBS, 12 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.