Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aspen-Pitkin County/Sardy Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Aspen, Colorado 81611
Saturday, January 6, 1996 11:30 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The captain said he aligned the airplane with what he thought was the runway centerline. The airplane touched down in a snow field 1,000 feet beyond the runway threshold and 25 feet to the right of runway centerline. The nose landing gear collapsed and, after traveling through several snow berms, the airplane skidded back onto the runway and came to a halt at the 4,000 foot mark. The captain said he was unable to positively identify the runway environment due to the blending of the snow-covered runway and surrounding terrain. The runway had been plowed and swept. The runway lights were covered with plowed snow and were not visible nor operating. Excess snow and dirt were dumped on the right side of the runway. The sun was bright and high in the sky. A NOTAM had been issued, noting that the runway was snow packed and covered with ice. Braking action was reported to be 'fair.'
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper in-flight decision to continue with the landing when the runway had not been positively identified. Factors were the snow-covered runway and landing area, sun glare, and the inadequate snow removal by airport personnel.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/6/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1130 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | ASPEN |
| Event State | COLORADO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 81611 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | ASPEN-PITKIN COUNTY/SARDY |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ASE |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 7815 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1125 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ASE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7815 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 30 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -8 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 120 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 6463 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 165 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 6 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1140 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 9:46AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | XAICA |
| NTSB Number | FTW96LA084 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Learjet |
| Aircraft Model | 60 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 60 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 60-027 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 22750 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | Foreign Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 9 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ICA GROUP |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | RIO BECERRA, 27 1ST FLOOR |
| Aircraft Owner City | MEXICO CITY |
| Aircraft Owner State | OF |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 03810 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | ELP |
| Departure City | EL PASO |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1000 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | ASE |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 15 |
| Runway Length | 7003 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |