Cessna 208B accident near Aspen, Colorado, January 5, 1989
On January 5, 1989 at about 2:39 pm local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N945FE, was destroyed in an accident near Aspen, Colorado (Aspen-Pitkin County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PILOT'S IMPROPER IFR PROCEDURE. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS INCLUDED MODERATE TURBULENCE, LOW CEILINGS, OBSCURATION AND SNOW.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 5, 1989 · about 2:39 pm local time
- Place
- Aspen, Colorado · Aspen-Pitkin County
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N945FE · no longer on the register · serial 208B0046
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,347 hours in all; 322 in this make and model; 4,800 as pilot in command; 800 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,041 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 10, 1988; 41 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: P. M. Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: DEN Denver CO at 1:35 pm
- Destination: ASE
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 15, 7,003 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:45 pm from ASE, 3 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.