Piper PA-60-601P accident near Burlington, Colorado, July 6, 2023
On July 6, 2023 at about 7:30 pm local time, a 1978 Piper PA-60-601P, registered N100PB, was destroyed in an accident during enroute near Burlington, Colorado. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a loss of control in flight and subsequent impact with terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 6, 2023 · about 7:30 pm local time · cases in 2023
- Place
- Burlington, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-60-601P Aerostar, built 1978 · all PA-60-601Ps on the register
- Registration
- N100PB · registry record · serial 61P05847963257
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed the airport about 1330 local time for an unknown destination in visual flight rules conditions. The accident site was located about 12 nautical miles (nm) from the airport; however, the airplane’s flight path and time of the accident are unknown as there was no flight track or recorded data available; there were no witnesses to the accident. Postaccident examination revealed no preimpact anomalies with the airplane or engines that would have precluded normal operation. Weather conditions after the airplane’s departure suggest the airplane may have encountered an area of deteriorating weather and instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) that reduced visibility and obscured terrain. However, as the accident time is unknown, the investigation was unable to determine if the airplane crashed during a time of deteriorating weather. The pilot was also operating the airplane with an inoperative GPS, which could have decreased the pilot’s ability to maintain situational awareness. The accident site signatures were consistent with a loss of control and impact with terrain. An autopsy was conducted on the pilot; however, due to the condition of the remains, it could not be determined if an impairing condition or natural disease contributed to the accident. An unknown quantity of ethanol detected by toxicological testing may have been from postmortem production; however, the limited results also do not exclude the possibility of ethanol consumption or related impairment.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- VFR encounter with IMC during enroute defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during enroute
- Loss of control in flight during enroute
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Navigation system › Global positioning sys (GPS) › Inoperative other cases naming the instruments and avionics
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Low visibility › Decision related to condition
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming IO-540-S1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming IO-540-S1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ITR Burlington CO at 7:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,800 ft; a few clouds at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.13 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from KITR, 12 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KITR 061953Z AUTO 13014KT 10SM FEW010 OVC018 19/16 A3013 RMK AO2 SLP162 T01890156
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 4 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – Video still of the accident airplane departing ITR
Photograph 2 – Accident Scene looking North (FIPC)
Photograph 3 – Left Engine
Photograph 4 – Right EngineThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
10 documents, released by the NTSB on July 23, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wreckage Examination Summary | PDF, 9 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 2 | Engine and Propeller Examination Summary | PDF, 8 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 3 | Meteorology | PDF, 19 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 4 | Witness Statements | PDF, 1 page · our copy | View Download |
| 5 | Photographs | PDF, 5 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 6 | Memorandum of Record - Airport Lobby Surveillance Video | PDF, 1 page · our copy | View Download |
| 7 | Hartzell Propeller Exam Report | PDF, 34 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 8 | Fuel Receipts Kitr N1000PB | PDF, 1 page · our copy | View Download |
| 9 | Toxicological Report | PDF, 1 page · our copy | View Download |
| 10 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 2 pages · our copy | View Download |
Other NTSB records under N100PB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N100PB on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-60 Aerostar 57 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,842 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-S1A5 10 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-S1A5 10 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Kit Carson County · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Colorado 2,860 since 1982 · 383 in the last ten years
- Colorado 7,485 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N100PB 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN23FA285.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.