Front Range Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Watkins, Colorado 80137
Monday, August 3, 1998 15:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was 40 miles from the intended destination when a level 6 thunderstorm was reported to be over the airport at the time of estimated arrival, and he diverted to another airport. He landed on runway 35 and exited the runway. The pilot stated that the taxiway over to the terminal appeared to be approximately 2 miles away, and in order to save time, he taxied at a speed of 25 to 30 mph. There was a rise in the taxiway, and the pilot was unable to see the right taxiway exit in enough time to slow his taxi speed in order to execute a right turn. As a result, the aircraft departed the taxiway, and came to rest in a ditch west of the taxiway, approximately 15 feet below the taxiway pavement.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's loss of control during taxi due to excessive taxi speed.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/3/1998
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City WATKINS
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80137
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport FRONT RANGE AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FTG
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 5512
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 310
Weather Observation Facility ID DEN
Elevation of weather observation facility 5431
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 10000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 7415
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 761
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 5 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1505
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2001 11:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5099E
NTSB Number FTW98LA343
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 182R
Aircraft Series Identifier 182R
Aircraft Serial Number 18268288
Certified Max Gross Weight 3110
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 41
Airframe Hours 1945
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WILLIAM H. WALLACE
Aircraft Owner Street Address 599 AVERY PLACE
Aircraft Owner City LONG BEACH
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 90807
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 No
Departure Airport Code OMA
Departure City OMAHA
Departure State NE
Departure Country
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code APA
Destination City ENGLEWOOD
Destination State CO
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2001 6:29PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35
Runway Length 8000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --