Diamond Aircraft Industries DA 20-A1 accident near Coyote, New Mexico, March 27, 1999
On March 27, 1999 at about 4:00 am local time, a Diamond Aircraft Industries DA 20-A1, registered N528SS, was destroyed in an accident near Coyote, New Mexico. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot-in-command's inadvertent flight into adverse weather, and his continued flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Factors were his failure to obtain an updated recorded weather briefing, the existing weather conditions which included snow, fog and rain, and the aircraft not being IFR equipped.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 27, 1999 · about 4:00 am local time
- Place
- Coyote, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Diamond Aircraft Industries DA 20-A1
- Registration
- N528SS · no longer on the register · serial 10092
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot and his pilot-rated passenger were flying cross-country for the purpose of building flight time. The pilot assumed the role of PIC for the leg from Durango to their intended destination of Santa Fe. During a stop earlier in the day in Las Vegas, the passenger checked the weather using a computer located in the terminal, which called for low clouds and a narrow temperature/dew point spread at the airport in Santa Fe. He did not obtain SIGMETS. While in cruise flight, he and his passenger began to encounter snow, fog and rain. While attempting to climb, he entered instrument meteorological conditions. The aircraft then impacted the trees in a 90 right bank and at a 45 degree downward pitch. The aircraft came to rest in an inverted position along a 45 degree inclining mountainous slope covered by several feet of snow. The aircraft was not IFR equipped.
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: 413 hours in all; 29 in this make and model; 108 in the last 90 days; 61 in the last 30 days; 70 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 981 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 4, 1999; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,609 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax S12 A3 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: The Global Group
The flight
- Departed from: DRO Durango CO
- Destination: SAF Sante Fe NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 39°F (4°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.
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.