Cessna 175A N6874E

Summary

On 22 August 1998 at about 18:45 local time, a Cessna 175A registered N6874E was involved in an accident near Erie, Colorado, United States. 4 people were on board and 3 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 August 1998 at 18:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Erie, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Tri-County Airport (48V)

Coordinates

40.0197, -105.0400

Aircraft

Cessna 175A

Registration

N6874E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98FA372

3 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain flying speed (above stall speed) and the subsequent stall/spin. Contributing factors were the tailwind, high density altitude, and aircraft overweight conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had an estimated 250 hours of flight experience and flew into Tri-County Airport (his second trip) to visit family members. The pilot was observed fueling his airplane before loading 3 passengers for a sight-seeing flight. The weight was calculated to be 50 pounds over maximum gross weight. He was seen taking off on runway 15 (elevation 5,130 feet; density altitude 8,185 feet) and a witness observed a wind shift to 300 degrees, 12 to 18 knots. Another witness observed a longer than normal takeoff; and at 50 to 100 feet the airplane's right wing dropped abruptly and the airplane spun half a turn to the ground. The pilot was visiting from the Dallas, Texas, area. Center of gravity and performance data could not be calculated due to configuration and envelope limitations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.