Lancair LC-40-550FG N101HK

Summary

On 23 October 2005 at about 01:27 local time, a Lancair LC-40-550FG registered N101HK was involved in an accident near Steamboat Spgns, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 October 2005 at 01:27

Classification

Accident

Location

Steamboat Spgns, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Na

Coordinates

40.3506, -106.6842

Aircraft

Lancair LC-40-550FG

Registration

N101HK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burlington → Steamboat Spgns

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

DEN06FA010

2 people died.

the pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain. Contributing factors include the pilot's lack of recent experience, the pilot's improper in-flight planning and decision making, the dark night and the mountainous terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot held an instrument rating and had logged 2 hours of night flight time within the previous 60 days. At the time of the accident, he was operating under night visual flight rules, in mountainous terrain, without a flight plan. The National Track Analysis Program (NTAP) radar data illustrated that the pilot initiated a descent from 14,000 feet msl at 1919:55. The rate of descent varied between 500 feet and 1,000 feet per minute. The last radar position recorded was at 1927:20. The airplane was at a location of 40 degrees, 21 minutes, 24 seconds north latitude, 106 degrees, 41 minutes, 49 seconds west longitude, at an encoded altitude of 10,500 feet msl. The airplane was located in a densely wooded area on the north face of a peak, at an approximate elevation of 10,500 feet msl, 580 feet west of the last radar position. Sunset was recorded at 1817 and the end of civil twilight was 1844. The moon rose at 2057 on the preceding day (October 21, 2005), and set at 1312 on the day of the accident. An examination of the airplane's systems, airframe, and engine, revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation prior to impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.