Cessna 402A accident near Holyoke, Colorado, August 5, 1992
On August 5, 1992, a Cessna 402A, registered N4504Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Holyoke, Colorado (Holyoke airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO FEATHER THE FAILED ENGINE PROPELLER. A FACTOR WAS: POWER LOSS FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 5, 1992
- Place
- Holyoke, Colorado · Holyoke · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402A · all 402As on the register
- Registration
- N4504Q · no longer on the register · serial 402A-0004
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE RIGHT ENGINE ON THE AIR TAXI FLIGHT LOST POWER AT ABOUT THE TIME THE AIRPLANE CROSSED THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT SAID HE HAD RETRACTED THE LANDING GEAR AND HAD INITIATED PROPELLER FEATHER. THE AIRPLANE LANDED WHEELS UP IN A CORN FIELD APPROXIMATELY 140 FEET FROM THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY AND 400 FEET TO THE RIGHT OF THE RUNWAY CENTERLINE. VISUAL EXAMINATION OF THE PROPELLER PROVIDED NO EVIDENCE OF PROPELLER FEATHERING AND THE PROPELLER CONTROL WAS FOUND IN THE FULL INCREASE RPM POSITION. THE PILOT SAID HE REFUELED THE AIRPLANE AT THE AIRPORT THE DAY BEFORE THE ACCIDENT AND SUSPECTED FUEL CONTAMINATION. FUEL SAMPLES WERE SUBMITTED TO THREE DIFFERENT AND INDEPENDENT LABORATORIES. NO ANOMALIES WERE REPORTED. THE ENGINE WAS PARTIALLY DISASSEMBLED AND EXAMINED. NO DISCREPANCIES WERE NOTED.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 50,000 hours in all; 227 in this make and model; 69 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 44,000 as pilot in command; 8,215 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,602 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 6, 1992; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Capital Aviation CORP.
The flight
- Departed from: 8V5
- Destination: BIS Bismarck ND
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 17, 3,600 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 18,000 ft; scat at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N4504Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.