Cessna 152 accident near Lafayette, Colorado, July 29, 1987
On July 29, 1987 at about 4:30 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N714YF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lafayette, Colorado. It was an instructional 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
- July 29, 1987 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lafayette, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N714YF · no longer on the register · serial 15279532
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
CFI WAS DEMONSTRATING ENG OUT EMERG LANDING AND ALLOWED ACFT TO DESCEND INTO TALL WEEDS BEFORE ADDING POWER WHICH WAS INSUFFICIENT TO OVERCOME DRAG OF WEEDS ON GEAR. ACFT STRUCK BANK AND FENCE SEPARATING PROP AND RIGHT MAIN GEAR. HULL AND COWLING WERE BUCKLED AND TORN.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,009 hours in all; 105 in this make and model; 136 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 841 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,338 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 15, 1987; 38 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hoffman Pilot Center, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BJC Broomfield CO at 3:30 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 pm from BJC, 10 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.