Piper PA-34-200T N81659

Summary

On 9 June 2005 at about 15:30 local time, a Piper PA-34-200T registered N81659 was involved in an accident near Telluride, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 June 2005 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Telluride, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

37.8611, -108.0364

Aircraft

Piper PA-34-200T

Registration

N81659

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grand Junction → Durango

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN05FA087

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain. Contributing to the accident were the high, rising terrain and fatigue.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to radar data, the airplane was climbing at an approximate rate of 500 feet per minute (fpm). This rate decreased to 350 fpm, 240 fpm, and approximately 140 fpm over a 24-minute period, prior to impact. Several witnesses fishing in the area heard an airplane fly over head. Shortly thereafter, they heard a loud explosion near the mountain peak and observed a rockslide, dust, and plume of smoke. The sheriff's office was notified and further investigation revealed the wreckage of a light twin-engine airplane. The initial impact point was located approximately 12,800 feet msl, and the main wreckage came to rest at 12,500 feet msl. According to the company, a direct flight is preferred if weather allows. The two instrument flight rules routes proposed in the company manual have minimum en route altitudes (MEA) of 13,000 feet and 15,000 feet. A direct route travels over mountainous terrain with mountain peaks as high as 14,100 feet msl. Air Route Traffic Control Center reported the MEA for such a direct flight as 15,300 msl. According to family members, friends, and colleagues, the pilot was "tired" and displayed symptoms of "burnout." One colleague reported that during an extended flight, the pilot had fallen asleep while acting as pilot in command. Several other passengers that had flown with the pilot reported that he had fallen asleep during their flights. Friends and family members reported that the pilot was "sick of flying" and they were concerned about his "lack of time to sleep." They reported that the pilot had been awakened "in the middle of the night to come back to work" on several occasions. On the morning of the accident, the pilot made several requests for someone to accompany him during his flight because he was tired.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.