Amateur-built AA-1B accident near Erie, Colorado, September 29, 2000
On September 29, 2000, a amateur-built AA-1B, registered N9622L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Erie, Colorado (Erie-Tri-County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Inadequate supervision by the certified flight instructor. Factors were loss of control by the student pilot, the flight instructor's failure to properly monitor the student pilot's rate of descent on final approach, and the flight instructor's lack of recent experience in make and model.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 29, 2000
- Place
- Erie, Colorado · Erie-Tri-County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AA-1B
- Registration
- N9622L · no longer on the register · serial 0122
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a dual instructional flight, the student pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings. The flight instructor gave him a practice engine out approach to landing. During final approach, a high sink rate occurred and the aircraft landed hard, bounced, and came to rest in a ditch beside the runway. Both wings, all the landing gear, and the propeller suffered damage. The student pilot had 27 hours total experience and the flight instructor had 56 hours in make and model, but no experience in make and model in the preceding 90 days. The accident occurred during daylight hours and the weather was winds from the north at 3 knots, clear skies, and a density altitude of 8,200 feet. The landings were being performed to runway 15.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,365 hours in all; 56 in this make and model; 38 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 1,872 as pilot in command; 1,872 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,564 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 26, 2000; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 48V at 11:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 15, 4,700 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:45 pm from BJC, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.