Piper PA-28-235 accident near Sugar City, Colorado, September 21, 1985
On September 21, 1985 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-235, registered N9186W, was destroyed in an accident near Sugar City, Colorado (Ordway 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 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
- September 21, 1985 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Sugar City, Colorado · Ordway · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-235 · all PA-28-235s on the register
- Registration
- N9186W · no longer on the register · serial 28-10843
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PLTS WERE PARTICIPATING IN MILE-HIGH AIR DERBY BETWEEN DENVER, COLORADO AND TAOS, NEW MEXICO. ACFT WAS FLYING 50 FT AGL AND AT FULL THROTTLE. WHEN PLT DEPRESSED MICROPHONE BUTTON TO GIVE POSITION REPORT, A MUFFLED EXPLOSION WAS HEARD. CABIN IMMEDIATELY FILLED WITH SMOKE AND AN EMERGENCY LANDING WAS MADE IN OPEN FIELD.
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: 222 hours in all; 91 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 183 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,014 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 9, 1985; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-B2B5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire in flight and on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 1W1 Denver CO at 5:15 pm
- Destination: SKX Taos NM
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 35 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from LHX, 11 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.
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.