Cessna 208A accident near Denver, Colorado, February 28, 1990
On February 28, 1990 at about 2:47 am local time, a Cessna 208A, registered N820FE, was destroyed in an accident near Denver, Colorado (Stapleton Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE ACCUMULATION OF STRUCTURAL ICE AND SUBSEQUENT STALLING OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE ICING CONDITION WAS A RELATED FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 28, 1990 · about 2:47 am local time
- Place
- Denver, Colorado · Stapleton Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208A · all 208As on the register
- Registration
- N820FE · registry record · serial 2080043
- 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
THE CESSNA 208A WAS ON AN IFR FLT TO HAUL FREIGHT FROM ASPEN TO DENVER, COLORADO. MODERATE TO HEAVY ICING CONDITIONS WERE FORECAST FOR THE DENVER AREA. WHILE ON AN ILS RWY 36 APCH, THE ACFT ENCOUNTERED ICING CONDITIONS. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT ENTERED A STEEP DESCENT & CRASHED ABOUT 3 MI FROM THE APCH END OF THE RWY. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OF THE ACFT WAS FOUND DURING THE INVESTIGATION. THE 1950 MST WX AT THE ARPT WAS IN PART: 800' SCATTERED, 1000' BROKEN, VIS 4 MI WITH FREZZING DRIZZLE & SNOW SHOWERS, TEMP 28 DEG, DEW POINT 25 DEG.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,800 hours in all; 70 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 3,345 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,227 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 25, 1990; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,035 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: P. M. Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ASE Aspen CO at 1:45 am
- Destination: DEN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 36, 7,750 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 030° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,000 ft; scat at 800 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from DEN, 4 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.