Cessna 172E N7780U

Summary

On 3 July 1998 at about 01:40 local time, a Cessna 172E registered N7780U was involved in an accident near Watkins, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 July 1998 at 01:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Watkins, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

39.7506, -104.5994

Aircraft

Cessna 172E

Registration

N7780U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Englewood

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98LA295

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate evaluation of the weather which resulted in an encounter with a microburst. Contributing was the airplane's climb capability exceeded by the microburst, and rising terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot landed at Front Range Airport, Watkins, Colorado, refueled, and waited 90 minutes for a thunderstorm to pass. He then took off en route to Englewood, Colorado. He returned to the airport shortly thereafter because he encountered 'steady state precipitation.' He waited for 30 minutes 'until the rain and virga passed and the wind [had] died down.' He took off from runway 17 into a 4 to 6 knot wind from 160 degrees. After climbing about 400 to 500 feet agl, he began to feel the airplane sinking rapidly. He maintained an airspeed of 60 to 65 knots during the descent, and the stall warning horn sounded intermittently. The airplane collided with rising terrain south of the airport. It was the pilot's opinion that he had encountered a microburst. At the time of the accident, Denver International Airport, located 10 miles northwest of Front Range Airport, reported there were several cumulonimbus clouds at 5500 feet in the area, with winds from the east at 20 knots, gusts to 26 knots, and peak winds at 30 knots. A line of cumulonimbus clouds, stretching from the northwest to the northeast, were moving north with rain showers to the northeast.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.