Animas Air Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Durango, Colorado 81301
Sunday, June 1, 2014 14:26 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On June 1, 2014, at 1426 mountain daylight time, a Cirrus SR22 airplane, N583KM, impacted terrain on approach to the Animas Air Park (00C), Durango, Colorado. The airplane was substantially damaged and the student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions existed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO), Santa Monica, California at 1116. According to the pilot, he set the mixture control for the engine to "nearly full rich" prior to initiating his descent into 00C. Just prior to landing on Runway 01, he encountered a "dust devil". The pilot applied power to go around, but perceived that the engine did not respond normally. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground to the left of the runway and the left and right leading edges of the wing and the vertical stabilizer were damaged after colliding with ground obstacles. The weather observation station at Durango-La Plata County Airport (DRO), Durango, Colorado, located about 6 miles southeast of 00C reported the following conditions at 1353: wind 270 degrees at 16 knots, with gusts to 24 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 27 degrees Celsius (C), dew point minus 14 degrees C, altimeter setting 30.08. Density altitude for 00C at the time of the accident was calculated to be 9,376 feet. Terrain rises quickly to the west of 00C and a significant drop in elevation occurs just prior to the approach end of Runway 01. Because of this topography, large sink rates often occur near the threshold of Runway 01 when strong westerly winds are present, according to the airport manager. The student pilot's home airport was SMO and he flew nearly all of his 183 hours of flight training in the southern California area. He was not cleared for a solo flight to 00C, nor had he ever flown into 00C prior to the accident. His flight instructor had written "all solo flights require instructor release" in the endorsements section of his logbook. Review of recorded engine data revealed that the engine remained running during the event, but the fuel flow may have been too high for the field elevation/density altitude. Examination of the engine following the event revealed that all of the sparkplugs were covered in thick, black soot, consistent with carbon fouling and a mixture that was too rich. Examination of the cylinders via borescope revealed no anomalies with the pistons, cylinder barrels, cylinder heads, valves and valve seats. However, all of the components were covered in dark soot. The sparkplugs were cleaned and replaced in their respective cylinders and the engine was test run utilizing the airplane's fuel supply system from the left fuel tank's outlet line and a substitute fuel tank. The engine ran normally throughout various power settings, including full power, with no anomalies noted.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/1/2014
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1426
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Durango
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 81301
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 371155N
Event Location Longitude 1075218W
Event Location Airport ANIMAS AIR PARK
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 00C
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 170
Airport Elevation 6684
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 1353 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 102
Weather Observation Facility ID KDRO
Elevation of weather observation facility 6685
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 24
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.08
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) --
NTSB Notification Source Federal Aviation Administratio
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 17 2014 5:00PM
User who most recently changed record folm
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N583KM
NTSB Number CEN14LA277
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 CIRRUS DESIGN CORP
Aircraft Model SR22
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0332
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 2
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 Aug 16 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 169
Airframe Hours 1296
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name BUCKSBAUM ROBERT
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City LOS ANGELES
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 900663106
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name BUCKSBAUM ROBERT
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City LOS ANGELES
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 900663106
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 No
Departure Airport Code KSMO
Departure City Santa Monica
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1116
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 00C
Destination City Durango
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 17 2014 4:56PM
User who most recently changed record folm
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 01
Runway Length 5010
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --