Fort Collins-Downtown Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
Sunday, April 3, 2005 14:50 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Witnesses said the engines were "running rough, cutting out, or backfiring and sputtering" as the airplane flew towards the airport. As the airplane made its landing approach, it was "high and extremely fast, one engine was windmilling, the other [engine was] running OK." He then heard an engine "spool up for a go-around." The airplane was seen to bank left about 80 degrees. At about 100-150 feet, the tail seemed to slip to the right and the plane banked further left and went inverted. The plane went into the building inverted and pointing slightly to the left. Post-impact fire destroyed the airplane and substantially damaged the building. Both engines were disassembled and inspected. Carbon-fouling of the top and bottom spark plugs from cylinders 1 and 6 on the left engine were the only discrepancies noted. Disassembly of both propellers revealed the left propeller "did not have power and was not feathered." The right propeller "was operating at moderate or high power."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. Contributing factors were the left engine loss of power for reasons undetermined, and the pilot allowing the airspeed to drop below Vmc during an attempted single-engine go-around.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/3/2005
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1450
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Fort Collins
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80524
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 403518N
Event Location Longitude 1050192W
Event Location Airport Fort Collins-Downtown Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3V5
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 4939
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1455 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 150
Weather Observation Facility ID FNL
Elevation of weather observation facility 5016
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 --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.74
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19637
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Apr 3 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1516
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 30 2006 1:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA Denver FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3FJ
NTSB Number DEN05FA047
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model E55
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number TE-879
Certified Max Gross Weight 5300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3657
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name McEnrube, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1638 E. Mulberry
Aircraft Owner City Fort Collins
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80524
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 3V5
Departure City Fort Collins
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1400
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 3V5
Destination City Fort Collins
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering - turn to reverse direction
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 8 2006 12:28PM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 11
Runway Length 5300
Runway Width 44
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --