Cessna P210N accident near Laporte, Colorado, April 22, 1985
On April 22, 1985 at about 3:00 pm local time, a Cessna P210N, registered N6208W, was destroyed in an accident near Laporte, Colorado. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- April 22, 1985 · about 3:00 pm local time
- Place
- Laporte, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna P210N · all P210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N6208W · no longer on the register · serial P21000731
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS A BUSINESS MAN, INVOLVED IN BUILDING/CONSTRUCTION WORK. ON THE MORNING OF THE ACDNT, HE HAD BREAKFAST WITH FRIENDS WHO SAID HE WAS IN GOOD SPIRITS & WAS GOING TO FLY BEFORE GOING TO WORK. WITNESSES NEAR THE ACDNT SITE SAW THE ACFT FLYING IN THE AREA. THEY THOUGHT THE PLT MAY HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR A ROCK QUARRY THEY HAD FOR FOR SALE OR WAS INTERESTED IN A NEARBY SITE FOR A RECENTLY PROPOSED RESERVOIR. A UNICOM OPERATOR RECEIVED A DISTRESS CALL FROM THE PLT STATING HE HAD A 'STUCK ELEVATOR' & WAS GOING TO MAKE AN EMERG LNDG. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A ROCK WALL, APRX 100' BELOW A RIDGE LINE & 800' ABOVE A NEARBY VALLEY FLOOR. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THE ACFT HAD IMPACTED IN A NOSE-LEVEL, SLIGHTLY R WING LOW ATTITUDE WHILE AT HI SPEED. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FND; HOWEVER, THE ACFT WAS COMPLETELY DESTOYED BY IMPACT. A SUBSEQUENT CORONER'S INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE PLT HAD FINANCIAL PROBLEMS& LISTED HIS DEATH AS SUICIDE; HOWEVER, THE PLT HAD MADE NO KNOWN DECLARATION OF INTENT TO PERFORM SUCH AN ACT.
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: 2,036 hours in all; 324 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 1,767 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 305 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 30, 1984; 57 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-P (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 3V5 Fort Collins CO at 2:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:47 pm from FCL, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.