Piper PA28-140 accident near Last Chance, Colorado, August 8, 1987
On August 8, 1987 at about 4:12 am local time, a Piper PA28-140, registered N5994U, was destroyed in an accident near Last Chance, Colorado. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. 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
- August 8, 1987 · about 4:12 am local time
- Place
- Last Chance, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA28-140 · all PA28-140s on the register
- Registration
- N5994U · no longer on the register · serial 2826731
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ON A CROSS COUNTRY FLT THE PLT ENCOUNTERED IFR CONDITIONS AND WAS NEITHER TRAINED NOR QUALIFIED TO FLY IFR. ATTEMPTS BY ATC TO ASSIST THE PLT AND ROUTE THE FLT TO AN ARPT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. THE PLT LOST CONTROL OF THE ACFT AND CRASHED IN A FIELD, THE PLT WAS FATALLY INJURED AND THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED.
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: 248 hours in all; 237 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 199 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,162 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 4, 1986; 118 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AKO Akron CO at 2:25 am
- Destination: 1V5 Boulder CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 110° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:47 am from AKO, 34 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.