Aspen Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Aspen, Colorado 81611
Saturday, August 9, 1997 8:48 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a touch-and-go landing roll, the aircraft veered to the right. The pilot said he applied left rudder, then the aircraft to veer to the left. He then applied right rudder and brake, which had little effect on directional control. Subsequently, the aircraft slide sideways, and the right main landing gear collapsed. Wind at the time was from 360 degrees at 4 knots. The pilot reported he had 1 hour of experience in the aircraft.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Failure of the pilot to maintain direction control of the aircraft during landing roll, which resulted in a ground swerve and subsequent collapse of the right main landing gear. A related factor was the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model of aircraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/9/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 848
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City ASPEN
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 81611
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ASPEN
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 845 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID ASE
Elevation of weather observation facility 7815
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 10200
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) 574
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 9 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 919
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:29PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N542EZ
NTSB Number FTW97LA306
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 305A (L-19)
Aircraft Series Identifier 305A (L-19
Aircraft Serial Number 22169
Certified Max Gross Weight 2252
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 3 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 183
Airframe Hours 4740
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PANGAIA AIR SERVICE
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 86
Aircraft Owner City GLADE PARK
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 81523
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code ASE
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 800
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
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 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 15
Runway Length 7004
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --