Hawker Siddeley HS-125-700A incident near Telluride, Colorado, January 4, 2003
On January 4, 2003 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Hawker Siddeley HS-125-700A, registered N270KA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Telluride, Colorado (Telluride Regional Airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the overheated and burned venturi fan motor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 4, 2003 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Telluride, Colorado · Telluride Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hawker Siddeley HS-125-700A
- Registration
- N270KA · no longer on the register · serial NA0307
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The crew had started the auxiliary power unit (APU) approximately 30 minutes prior to starting engines. The crew and 4 passengers were on board the airplane, when the crew started the number 2 engine and smelled smoke. The crew turned around to observe smoke in the cabin. The crew shut down the number 2 engine, the APU, and all electrical switches. The crew and passengers got off the airplane through the main cabin door. An inspection of the airplane revealed a venturi fan unit motor located aft of the rear cabin bulkhead had overheated and failed. Components and wiring in the vicinity of the venturi were charred. No other anomalies were found. The venturi was an older model identified in 1994 as being subject to fan motor overheating. A 1994 AD required that the older units be inspected every 4 years. The unit on the incident airplane was installed in 1999.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,663 hours in all; 3,060 in this make and model; 6,518 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: December 4, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,650 hours in all; 350 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 1,600 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 30, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,051.8 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 24, 2002; 155.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 25,000 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Garrett-Airesearch TFE731-3R-1H (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Garrett-Airesearch TFE731-3R-1H (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Key Air Incorporated
The flight
- Departed from: TEX Telluride CO at 4:00 pm
- Destination: Oxford CT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 6,870 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.42 inHg
- Observation at 3:49 pm from TEX, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| 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.