Beech V35A accident near Nederland, Colorado, June 5, 1999
On June 5, 1999 at about 4:19 pm local time, a Beech V35A, registered N68VT, was destroyed in an accident near Nederland, Colorado. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's intentional and continued flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Factors were his failure to obtain a weather briefing, the existing weather conditions that included snow, hail, obscuration and lightning, and the mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 5, 1999 · about 4:19 pm local time
- Place
- Nederland, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech V35A · all V35As on the register
- Registration
- N68VT · registry record · serial D-8656
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed Lee's Summit, Missouri, on the morning of the accident to visit family members in Kremmling, Colorado. He initiated flight following services with Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) and then Denver TRACON while en route and at 1015:31, services were terminated. The pilot was advised to re-contact Denver ARTCC for further advisories, but failed to do so. The last National Track Analysis Program (NTAP) radar 'hit' of the accident airplane was at 1019:23 at an altitude of 12,600 feet. According to witnesses working several miles east of the accident site, they heard an airplane flying overhead traveling east to west and low to the ground; however, low cloud cover, snow and poor visibility prevented them from viewing the aircraft. A squall line 3 miles wide running north/south was passing through the area, with hail and cloud to cloud lightening. The mountains to the west and the direction in which the airplane was traveling were obscured. At 1943, an alert notice (ALNOT) was issued. A search was initiated, and the aircraft was located at 1430 the following afternoon. The airplane was found along a 45 degree inclining slope at an elevation of 12,808 feet mean sea level on a glacier along the north face of Arapaho Peak on the east side of the Continental Divide.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 680 hours in all; 310 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 12, 1998
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550-B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LXT Lee'S Summit MO at 1:00 pm
- Destination: 20V Kremmling CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 DEN99FA093.