Beech E-55 accident near Steamboat Sprin, Colorado, September 5, 1992
On September 5, 1992 at about 1:20 am local time, a Beech E-55, registered N12GG, was destroyed in an accident near Steamboat Sprin, Colorado. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT BECOMING SPATIALLY DISORIENTED AND LOSING CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE. FACTORS WERE: THE PILOT'S DISREGARD OF THE PREFLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFING, HIS INTENTIONAL VFR FLIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS, HIS LACK OF RECENT INSTRUMENT TIME, AND WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 5, 1992 · about 1:20 am local time
- Place
- Steamboat Sprin, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech E-55 · all E-55s on the register
- Registration
- N12GG · registry record · serial TE-779
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT OBTAINED A WEATHER BRIEFING AND WAS TOLD VFR FLIGHT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED DUE TO A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS BETWEEN HIS DEPARTURE POINT AND DESTINATION, AND A CONVECTIVE SIGMET HAD BEEN ISSUED. ADDITIONALLY, FLIGHT PRECAUTIONS HAD BEEN POSTED FOR MOUNTAIN OBSCUREMENT, LIGHT TO MODERATE MIXED TO CLEAR ICING, AND OCCASIONAL LIGHT TO MODERATE TURBULENCE. THE PILOT DID NOT FILE A FLIGHT PLAN AND DEPARTED. HUNTERS REPORTED SEEING A LOW FLYING TWIN ENGINE AIRPLANE CIRCLE THE AREA, THEN THEY HEARD THE IMPACT. THEY SAID THE WEATHER CONSISTED OF A LOW CEILING, REDUCED VISIBILITY, FOG, HIGH WINDS, AND RAIN THAT FOLLOWED A SNOW SHOWER. RECORDS INDICATE THE PILOT DID NOT FLY BETWEEN 1978 AND 1991, AND HAD RECENTLY BEEN GIVEN A CHECKOUT IN THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE. NEAR VERTICAL IMPACT RESULTED IN MINIMAL WRECKAGE SCATTER.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,100 hours in all; 350 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,101 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 19, 1991; 409 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Rms Sales, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: 2V2 Longmont CO
- Destination: SBS Steamboat Sprin CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: at 25 knots, gusting 40
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 150 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DEN92FA091.