Piper PA-60-601P N100PB

Summary

On 6 July 2023 at about 19:30 local time, a Piper PA-60-601P registered N100PB was involved in an accident near Burlington, 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

6 July 2023 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Burlington, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

39.0490, -102.3375

Aircraft

Piper PA-60-601P

Registration

N100PB

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burlington → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23FA285

1 person died.

The pilot’s visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a loss of control in flight and subsequent impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed the airport about 1330 local time for an unknown destination in visual flight rules conditions. The accident site was located about 12 nautical miles (nm) from the airport; however, the airplane’s flight path and time of the accident are unknown as there was no flight track or recorded data available; there were no witnesses to the accident. Postaccident examination revealed no preimpact anomalies with the airplane or engines that would have precluded normal operation. Weather conditions after the airplane’s departure suggest the airplane may have encountered an area of deteriorating weather and instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) that reduced visibility and obscured terrain. However, as the accident time is unknown, the investigation was unable to determine if the airplane crashed during a time of deteriorating weather. The pilot was also operating the airplane with an inoperative GPS, which could have decreased the pilot’s ability to maintain situational awareness. The accident site signatures were consistent with a loss of control and impact with terrain. An autopsy was conducted on the pilot; however, due to the condition of the remains, it could not be determined if an impairing condition or natural disease contributed to the accident. An unknown quantity of ethanol detected by toxicological testing may have been from postmortem production; however, the limited results also do not exclude the possibility of ethanol consumption or related impairment.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.