Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aspen-Pitkin County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Aspen, Colorado 81611
Thursday, January 5, 1989 7:39 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
PLT SAID HE ENCOUNTERED SEVERE TO EXTREME TURBULENCE UPON REACHING MISSED APCH POINT AND FELT ACFT MIGHT STALL IF HE BEGAN IMMEDIATE RIGHT TURN AS CALLED FOR IN MISSED APCH PROCEDURE. PLT SAID HE MADE LEFT TURN AT 15 DME (MISSED APCH POINT IS AT 11.5 DME) BECAUSE THERE WAS HIGHER TERRAIN TO RIGHT. ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES ON MOUNTAIN 3 MI EAST OF ARPT. WX ANALYSIS INDICATED POTENTIAL FOR LIGHT TO MODERATE TURBULENCE BUT NOT SEVERE TO EXTREME TURBULENCE. PLTS LANDING AND DEPARTING ARPT PRIOR TO AND AFTER ACCIDENT REPORTED LIGHT TO MODERATE CHOP. RADAR SHOWED ACFT SPEED AT 183.1 KTS BETWEEN IAF AND FAF. BETWEEN FAF AND MISSED APCH POINT, ACFT SPEED WAS 95.7 KTS. PLT SAID HE REFERRED TO CURRENT COMMERCIAL INSTRUMENT APCH CHART WHILE EXECUTING APCH. ONLY OBSOLETE GOVERNMENT INSTRUMENT APCH BOOK WAS FOUND IN ACFT. RADIOS WERE NOT TUNED TO MISSED APCH NAVAIDS. PLT-RATED PAX SAID PLT PANICKED AFTER ENCOUNTERING TURBULENCE.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
PILOT'S IMPROPER IFR PROCEDURE. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS INCLUDED MODERATE TURBULENCE, LOW CEILINGS, OBSCURATION AND SNOW.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/5/1989 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 739 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | ASPEN |
| Event State | COLORADO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 81611 |
| Event Date Year | 1989 |
| 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 |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ASE |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 3 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 77 |
| Airport Elevation | 7815 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Partial - limited by pilot |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 745 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 77 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ASE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7815 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Dawn |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 900 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Obscured |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 3 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -1 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 7740 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Light |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 47 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 5 1989 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 756 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | 38025 |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 13 2000 12:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N945FE |
| NTSB Number | DEN89FA056 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 208B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 208B |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 208B0046 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 8750 |
| 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 | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 10 1988 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 41 |
| Airframe Hours | 1041 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | FEDERAL EXPRESS |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2005 CORPORATE AVENUE |
| Aircraft Owner City | MEMPHIS |
| Aircraft Owner State | TN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 38132 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | P. M. AIR, INC. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 2635 EAST AIR LANE |
| Operator City | PHOENIX |
| Operator State | AZ |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 85034 |
| Operator Code | EKDA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| 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 | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Cargo |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | DEN |
| Departure City | DENVER |
| Departure State | CO |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 635 |
| 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 | Approach |
| 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 | -- |