- Date
- June 30, 1995, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Garfield, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8155SCessna 150F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950630017259A
- Case key
- 19481
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 delayed decision to deviate away from the deteriorating weather. Factors were his inadequate evaluation of the weather, high density altitude, and the resultant inadvertent operation of the airplane beyond the climb performance limitations of the airplane in maneuvering flight.
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
As the pilot approached monarch pass (elevation 11,312 feet MSL), he determined that cloud coverage ahead would not allow him to continue under visual meteorological conditions. As he turned the airplane around, it began to lose altitude. The pilot was unable to arrest the descent rate, and he made a 'hard landing' on the highway. According to the manufacturer, the service ceiling of the Cessna 150F is 12,650 feet MSL. Density altitude was 11,777 feet at the pass. The pilot later said he would 'never fly in high terrain again, at least not without getting some good instruction in mountain flying.'
Factual narrative
On June 30, 1995, approximately 0830 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 150F, N8155S, was substantially damaged during landing near Garfield, Colorado. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
The following is based on the pilot/operator report. As the pilot approached Monarch Pass (elevation 11,312 feet MSL), he determined that cloud coverage ahead would not allow him to continue under visual meteorological conditions. As he "maneuvered the aircraft to avoid flight into IFR conditions, the aircraft began to lose altitude. It was as if the aircraft was caught in a downdraft." The pilot was unable to arrest the descent rate and he made a "hard landing" on a turnoff apron on the south side of U.S. 50, approximately 1/2-mile west on Monarch Pass.
The nearest weather observation facility is 29 nautical miles west of the accident scene, at an elevation of 7,673 feet. Temperature there was 47 degrees Fahrenheit with an altimeter setting of 30.37. Based on a standard temperature lapse rate density altitude at Monarch Pass would have been 11,777 feet MSL.
According to the Cessna Aircraft Company, the service ceiling (the altitude at which the airplane is unable to climb at a rate greater than 100 feet per minute) of the Cessna 150F is 12,650 feet MSL.
The pilot later told an investigator that he would "never fly in high terrain again, at least not without getting some good instruction in mountain flying."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8155S
- Reported as
- Cessna 150F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15061755
- Airframe hours
- 4,069
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A42, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stephen L. Kowalewski
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 22, 1994 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- MJT · Montrose, CO
- Destination
- 0V2 · Salida, 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
- 60
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,673 total · 1,250 in this make and model · 25 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 9 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,400 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GUC, 29 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 N8155S · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.