Cessna U206 accident near Cortez, Colorado, June 25, 1983
On June 25, 1983 at about 4:15 pm local time, a Cessna U206, registered N5413X, was destroyed in an accident near Cortez, Colorado. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed and 3 people were seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 25, 1983 · about 4:15 pm local time
- Place
- Cortez, Colorado
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed and 3 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206 · all U206s on the register
- Registration
- N5413X · no longer on the register · serial U20605729
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT FILED A COMPANY VFR FLT PLAN & TOOK OFF AT APRX 0930 MDT ON A RETURN FLT TO FARMINGTON, NM. ACCORDING TO A SURVIVING PASSENGER, AFTER DEPARTING BLANDING, THE ACFT ENTERED LOW CLOUDS. REPORTEDLY, THE PLT FLEW IN THE CLOUDS FOR A PERIOD OF TIME UNTIL HE FOUND AN OPEN SPOT, THEN DESCENDED BELOW THE CLOUDS. THE PASSENGER STATED THAT THE PLT CONTINUED THE FLT 'GOING BACK & FORTH, UP & DOWN... CANYONS.' HE STATED THE PLT 'STARTED BACK UP IN THE FOG & I THOUGHT HE KNEW WHERE HE WAS GOING.' HE REPORTED THAT A FEW MINUTES AFTER ENTERING THE FOG, THE ACFT CRASHED. A SEARCH WAS INITIATED AFTER THE ACFT WAS REPORTED OVERDUE. IT WAS FOUND AT APRX 1517 WHERE IT CRASHED & BURNED ON SLEEPING UTE MOUNTAIN AT THE 7800 FT LEVEL. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THE ACFT IMPACTED RISING TERRAIN IN A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE. NO PREIMPACT, MECHANICAL FAILURE/MALFUNCTION WAS REPORTED. THE PLT WAS INSTRUMENT RATED, BUT WAS CERTIFIED FOR VFR FLT ONLY FOR OPERATIONS UNDER PART 135 OF THE FAR'S.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 882 hours in all; 76 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 735 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,342 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 6, 1983; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,850 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: BDG Blanding UT at 4:30 pm
- Destination: FMN Farnington NM
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 3 |
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.