Cessna 172C accident near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, January 25, 2006
On January 25, 2006 at about 8:35 pm local time, a Cessna 172C, registered N1407Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It was a ferry flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 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 initiating flight into known adverse weather, and his delay in not taking remedial action sooner by not making a precautionary landing. Contributing factors include the pilot's failure to obtain preflight and in-flight weather briefings, his continuing VFR flight into IMC, snow-covered terrain, and trees.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 25, 2006 · about 8:35 pm local time
- Place
- Pagosa Springs, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172C · all 172Cs on the register
- Registration
- N1407Y · no longer on the register · serial 17249107
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Prior to departure, the pilot discussed the weather with a friend who was 65 miles south of the pilot's intended destination. He told the pilot that the weather was clear to the north. The pilot took off and followed a highway. Poor weather conditions prevented him from landing at his original destination, so he turned around and landed at a privately-owned airport that had no service facilities. Shortly thereafter, the pilot took off again and flew north towards his destination. A nearby New Mexico State trooper on patrol observed a single-engine, high-wing airplane, white in color, pass overhead "not more than 20 feet off the ground." As the pilot got closer to his destination, the "weather got bad." He didn't have enough fuel to divert, so he elected to "fly to area of VFR minimums." Then, the "weather in front of us was below class G minimums," so the pilot decided to make a precautionary landing on a snow-covered road. The road came to a "T" and the airplane slid off the end. The left wing and propeller struck the ground and the right wing struck a tree. The right wing had leading edge compression damage outboard of the root, and the left wing leading edge was crushed near the wing tip fairing. Both propeller blades were bent. The pilot said he "should have picked a spot to do a precautionary landing sooner before the weather got bad. Second, I should have called flight service to get a weather briefing, not a friend."
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 850 hours in all; 650 in this make and model; 65 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 790 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 378 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 200 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,627 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 2006; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,250 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LVS Las Vegas NM at 5:30 pm
- Destination: 2V1 Pagosa Springs CO
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 900 ft; scat at 300 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.36 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from DRO, 43 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.
Other NTSB records under N1407Y the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.