Piper PA-18-150 accident near Cortez, Colorado, November 5, 2007
On November 5, 2007 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N6ZT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cortez, Colorado (Cortez Municipal airport). It was a personal 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
The passenger's inadvertent application of brakes, causing the airplane to nose over on landing. A contributing factor was the pilot's failure top adequately brief the passenger.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 5, 2007 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Cortez, Colorado · Cortez Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N6ZT · registry record · serial 18-5824
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot made a full-stall (conventional) landing. When the airplane touched down, he felt "a sudden slowing of the aircraft" and the "tail rapidly coming up." He yelled at the passenger to get his feet off the brake pedals. The pilot said the "passenger had no idea he was touching the brake pedals as he braces himself for landing." The airplane then nosed over during the landing rollout.
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
- Flight time: 544 hours in all; 61 in this make and model; 43 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 510 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,709 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CEZ Cortez CO at 5:00 pm
- Destination: CEZ Cortez CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 03, 7,205 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.32 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from CEZ
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.