Cessna 208A accident near Leadville, Colorado, January 17, 1990
On January 17, 1990 at about 2:19 pm local time, a Cessna 208A, registered N835FE, was destroyed in an accident near Leadville, Colorado. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
DIVERSION OF THE PILOT'S ATTENTION, RESULTING IN AN IN FLIGHT COLLISION WITH TERRAIN DURING NORMAL CRUISE FLIGHT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 17, 1990 · about 2:19 pm local time
- Place
- Leadville, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208A · all 208As on the register
- Registration
- N835FE · no longer on the register · serial 20800091
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PM AIR FLT 824, A FEDERAL EXPRESS SCHEDULED DOMESTIC CARGO FLT, DEPARTED DENVER, CO, AT 0642, IFR TO MONTROSE, CO. FLT WAS CLEARED TO FL 180, BUT PLT CANCELLED IFR AT 0653. RADAR SHOWED ACFT LEVELED OFF AT 14,500 FT ON SW HEADING. ACFT MAINTAINED RELATIVE CONSTANT ALT AND HEADING BEFORE CRASHING 50 FT BELOW SUMMIT OF 14,221-FT MT MASSIVE, SECOND TALLEST PEAK IN CO, AT APRX 0719. WX WAS CAVU. TOXICOLOGICAL TESTS REVEALED MARIJUANA METABOLITE LEVEL OF 37 NG/ML IN URINE AND 1 NG/ML IN BLOOD. PLT WAS ONCE CONVICTED IN 1974 FOR POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, BUT HAD NO OTHER ALCOHOL/DRUG CONVICTIONS. EVIDENCE INDICATES PLT OBTAINED ADEQUATE SLEEP PRIOR TO FLT. DURING AUTOPSY, TWO PAGES FROM AIRMEN'S INFORMATION MANUAL WERE FOUND CLUTCHED IN PLT'S HANDS.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,800 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 2,600 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: None (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,368 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 25, 1989; 78 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 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 1:44 pm
- Destination: MTJ Montrose CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 210° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 16°F (-9°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 pm from ASE, 18 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.