Lancair LC-40-550FG accident near Steamboat Spgns, Colorado, October 23, 2005
On October 23, 2005 at about 1:27 am local time, a Lancair LC-40-550FG, registered N101HK, was destroyed in an accident near Steamboat Spgns, Colorado (Na airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain. Contributing factors include the pilot's lack of recent experience, the pilot's improper in-flight planning and decision making, the dark night and the mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 23, 2005 · about 1:27 am local time
- Place
- Steamboat Spgns, Colorado · Na · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Lancair LC-40-550FG
- Registration
- N101HK · no longer on the register · serial 40005
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot held an instrument rating and had logged 2 hours of night flight time within the previous 60 days. At the time of the accident, he was operating under night visual flight rules, in mountainous terrain, without a flight plan. The National Track Analysis Program (NTAP) radar data illustrated that the pilot initiated a descent from 14,000 feet msl at 1919:55. The rate of descent varied between 500 feet and 1,000 feet per minute. The last radar position recorded was at 1927:20. The airplane was at a location of 40 degrees, 21 minutes, 24 seconds north latitude, 106 degrees, 41 minutes, 49 seconds west longitude, at an encoded altitude of 10,500 feet msl. The airplane was located in a densely wooded area on the north face of a peak, at an approximate elevation of 10,500 feet msl, 580 feet west of the last radar position. Sunset was recorded at 1817 and the end of civil twilight was 1844. The moon rose at 2057 on the preceding day (October 21, 2005), and set at 1312 on the day of the accident. An examination of the airplane's systems, airframe, and engine, revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation prior to impact.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 310 hours in all; 122 in this make and model; 77 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 271 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,537.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2005; 142.2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Teledyne Continental IO-550-N (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BRL Burlington IA at 8:21 pm
- Destination: SBS Steamboat Spgns CO
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 190° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 1:15 am from HDN, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.