Cessna 340 accident near Broomfield, Colorado, September 23, 2000
On September 23, 2000 at about 4:00 am local time, a Cessna 340, registered N388SP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Broomfield, Colorado (Jefferson County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot landing the aircraft hard exceeding the design stress limits. Factors were: Low ceiling, freezing rain, dark night, excessive descent rate, and improper glide path.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 23, 2000 · about 4:00 am local time
- Place
- Broomfield, Colorado · Jefferson County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 340 · all 340s on the register
- Registration
- N388SP · registry record · serial 0337
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the completion of an on-demand air taxi flight carrying four passengers, a ILS approach was conducted followed by a hard landing which damaged the landing gear, both wings, and the tips of the left propeller blades. Lighting conditions were dark night. Weather during the approach/landing was 200-foot obscuration, 1/2-mile visibility in freezing drizzle and mist. The wind was from 360 degrees magnetic heading at 10 knots and the altimeter was 30.03 inches of mercury. The recorded temperature and dew point were both 34 degrees Fahrenheit.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,863 hours in all; 157 in this make and model; 320 in the last 90 days; 102 in the last 30 days; 2,598 as pilot in command; 1,399 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,488 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 10, 2000; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,275 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental 520N (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Star West Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: RKS Rock Springs WY at 2:30 am
- Destination: BJC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 29R, 9,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:45 am from BJC, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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 never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.