Cessna T206H N72638

Summary

On 29 June 2007 at about 21:05 local time, a Cessna T206H registered N72638 was involved in an accident near Steamboat Spngs, Colorado, United States. One person was 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

29 June 2007 at 21:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Steamboat Spngs, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Steamboat Springs/Bob Adams Fi (SBS)

Coordinates

40.5164, -107.2178

Aircraft

Cessna T206H

Registration

N72638

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denver → Steamboat Spngs

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN07CA110

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadvertent encounter with adverse weather conditions (dirt devils/whirlwinds) and his inability to control the airplane during that encounter resulting in the airplane impacting the runway, subsequently going off the side of the runway, and striking a taxiway sign. A factor contributing to the accident was the dirt devil.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was landing when his airplane encountered what he thought might be a microburst. His airplane had gone approximately 300 feet when the airplane's tail lifted up, the right wing came down, and the propeller struck the runway. The airplane then went off the right side of the runway where it struck a taxiway sign. During the impact with the sign, the left bottom fuselage, left elevator, and left horizontal stabilizer sustained substantial damage. The pilot immediately executed a go around, flew the airplane around the traffic pattern, and landed uneventfully. An examination of the airplane showed no anomalies. The pilot said that he recalled approximately 2 minutes prior to landing the Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) was reporting winds of 230 degrees at 3 knots. Wind conditions reported at Hayden, Colorado (249 degrees at 30 miles), approximately 10 minutes prior to the accident were 210 degrees at 12 knots with gusts to 17 knots. Twenty minutes earlier, the wind conditions were 190 degrees at 12 knots with gusts to 14 knots. Ten minutes after the accident the wind conditions were 210 degrees at 8 knots, with winds becoming variable between 170 and 230 degrees. The airport manager said that he had observed "dirt devils" on the airport prior to and after the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.