Boulder Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Boulder, Colorado 80301
Saturday, April 17, 2004 19:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said he was approximately 300 feet in the air on departure when the engine began to run rough. The pilot said he "put a little mixture in [and] the engine started to run fine for about 5 seconds. Then the engine died." The pilot said the only place he could land was the lake. He said that as he touched down the airplane "skimmed for a few seconds and then it went over on its back." The pilot said he got out through the windscreen, got on top of the bottom of the wing, and then swam to shore. He said the airplane sank nose first about 30 seconds later. Later examination of the airplane showed substantial damage to the left wing. The airplane's engine was examined and showed the left magneto inoperative. An internal examination of the magneto showed corrosion around the points, the P-lead, and the capacitor.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the failed magneto and the lack of suitable terrain (lake) for a forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/17/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1930
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Boulder
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80301
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400222N
Event Location Longitude 1051333W
Event Location Airport Boulder Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1V5
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 5288
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1945 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 150
Weather Observation Facility ID BJC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5670
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 30
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.69
Density Altitude (feet) 7691
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16495
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Apr 17 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1944
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2004 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Denver, Colorado FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N105DP
NTSB Number DEN04FA064
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 150H
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 150-68960
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 Nov 1 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 9394.74
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David Elliott
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4191 Jay Road
Aircraft Owner City Boulder
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80301
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 1V5
Departure City Boulder
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1915
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 1V5
Destination City Boulder
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 25 2004 9:46AM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 8R
Runway Length 4100
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --