Luscombe 8E N1941B

Summary

On 25 December 1999 at about 18:30 local time, a Luscombe 8E registered N1941B was involved in an accident near San Luis, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 December 1999 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

San Luis, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

37.2007, -105.4196

Aircraft

Luscombe 8E

Registration

N1941B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Leadville → Amarillo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN00LA031

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision, and the subsequent inadvertent stall/mush. Factors were the pilot's lack of total experience in mountain flying, the high density altitude, and downdraft weather conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said he approached the 12,560 foot mountain pass with 500 to 600 feet of clearance, but a 'strong downdraft forced me into the ground within 2 seconds; like a fly swatter.' He said that as he descended, his flight controls 'had no fell in them.' Rescue teams reached the pilot approximately 25 hours later. A pilot (with a glider rating), who reported flying within 5 miles of the accident site, said that there were lenticular clouds over the mountain all day, and the wind was blowing from east-southeast to west. A law enforcement officer said that he drove up the mountain as far as he could on the night of the accident, and the wind was blowing westward down the mountain 40 to 60 miles per hour (mph). The pilot said that the wind was 40 to 50 mph from the east. The computed density altitude was approximately 12,306 feet. The pilot said that he recommended that he should have 'possibly [flown] higher or not [have] attempt[ed] to fly over the ridge at all.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.