It is raining aircraft in Colorado
In the last couple of days there have been 2 crashes in Colorado. The first was a C-421 that crashed 1 mile short of the Akron, Co (eastern flatlands) and the second was a Piper Saratoga yesterday on Rabit Ears pass near Steamboat, Co. These 2 crashes occurred in totally different environments (mountains vs. plains) and I am not going to speculate on the cause. Both did have 1 thing in common and that is the weather.
The Piper crashed about 1235 local. The first rescue folks arrived around 1530 and the last pax was extracted around 2200. There just happened to be cell phone coverage in the area, otherwise it might have been spring before the plane was found.
Since New Years and Presidents day are appproaching, a little reminder about mountain flying is in order.
1) Fly light and with plenty of fuel. Consider ferrying pax and baggage to an airport at a lower elevation and longer runways.
2) Pay attention to W&B. Don't forget to include survival gear in the calculation.
3) Fly early in the day. If something happens, there is more daylight to assist the rescue people.
4) Pay attention to your performance charts. There are times when you will be outside the range of your performance charts (C-172 pilots please tell me the landing/takeoff distance at 10000 msl @ 70 degrees). Congratulations you are a test pilot.
5) Get a mountain checkout by a qualified flight instructor. It is money/time well spent. There are ways to reduce the risk of the situation listed in #4.
6) The freezing level is at the surface and the surface is very high. Any ice that you may pick up will be with you for the duration (discounting any sublimation). As Avbug says, stay away from the ice!!!!
7) Keep informed of the wx developments with flight service. I happened to be hiking yesterday at the time of the crash in full sun and 47 degrees at 9500 msl. There were standing lenticulars scattered about. Mountain wx can be very localized.
8) Take a survival course (both winter and summer). Pick one with both classroom and practical sessions. More money well spent.
Just be careful and cautious out there folks. Over the mountains is not where you want to question the quality/quantity of your aircraft maintenance. These mountains are fun and beautiful but they will also kick your a$$ if you don't respect them.
I don't want to have to go find any more aluminum in the mountains!!!!
In the last couple of days there have been 2 crashes in Colorado. The first was a C-421 that crashed 1 mile short of the Akron, Co (eastern flatlands) and the second was a Piper Saratoga yesterday on Rabit Ears pass near Steamboat, Co. These 2 crashes occurred in totally different environments (mountains vs. plains) and I am not going to speculate on the cause. Both did have 1 thing in common and that is the weather.
The Piper crashed about 1235 local. The first rescue folks arrived around 1530 and the last pax was extracted around 2200. There just happened to be cell phone coverage in the area, otherwise it might have been spring before the plane was found.
Since New Years and Presidents day are appproaching, a little reminder about mountain flying is in order.
1) Fly light and with plenty of fuel. Consider ferrying pax and baggage to an airport at a lower elevation and longer runways.
2) Pay attention to W&B. Don't forget to include survival gear in the calculation.
3) Fly early in the day. If something happens, there is more daylight to assist the rescue people.
4) Pay attention to your performance charts. There are times when you will be outside the range of your performance charts (C-172 pilots please tell me the landing/takeoff distance at 10000 msl @ 70 degrees). Congratulations you are a test pilot.
5) Get a mountain checkout by a qualified flight instructor. It is money/time well spent. There are ways to reduce the risk of the situation listed in #4.
6) The freezing level is at the surface and the surface is very high. Any ice that you may pick up will be with you for the duration (discounting any sublimation). As Avbug says, stay away from the ice!!!!
7) Keep informed of the wx developments with flight service. I happened to be hiking yesterday at the time of the crash in full sun and 47 degrees at 9500 msl. There were standing lenticulars scattered about. Mountain wx can be very localized.
8) Take a survival course (both winter and summer). Pick one with both classroom and practical sessions. More money well spent.
Just be careful and cautious out there folks. Over the mountains is not where you want to question the quality/quantity of your aircraft maintenance. These mountains are fun and beautiful but they will also kick your a$$ if you don't respect them.
I don't want to have to go find any more aluminum in the mountains!!!!
Last edited:
"
