Piper PA-28-235 N8704W

Summary

On 18 December 2001 at about 17:45 local time, a Piper PA-28-235 registered N8704W, operated by Jerry W. Elliott, was involved in an accident near Crested Butte, Colorado, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 December 2001 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Crested Butte, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Buckhorn Ranch (0CO2)

Coordinates

38.8702, -106.9803

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-235

Registration

N8704W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Jerry W. Elliott

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grand Junction → Crested Butte

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN02LA015

Nobody was injured.

a wet brake that later froze resulting in a loss of directional control on landing. A contributing factor was the snow bank.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said the runway was covered by a thin layer of snow that had recently been plowed. The airplane touched down, rolled about 10 feet, and began "pulling" to the left. The pilot applied right rudder but to no avail. He applied full right aileron and lifted the left wing to clear an 18-inch snow bank on the side of the runway. The airplane traveled another 100 feet before the left wing lost lift and settled back down to the runway. The airplane "went through snow," spun around, and stopped 20 feet off the side of the runway. The pilot found a skid mark on the runway made by the left wheel. He suspected the wheel may have gotten wet when he had taxied for takeoff and the brake froze. He said the temperature at 12,000 feet was -20 degrees F.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.