Piper PA-24B-260 accident near Westcliffe, Colorado, September 25, 1995
On September 25, 1995 at about 1:13 am local time, a Piper PA-24B-260, registered N9121P, was destroyed in an accident near Westcliffe, Colorado. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 5 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE OR CLEARANCE FROM MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. FACTORS RELATING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE LIGHT CONDITIONS AT DUSK, THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF RECENT INSTRUMENT EXPERIENCE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 1995 · about 1:13 am local time
- Place
- Westcliffe, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24B-260 · all PA-24B-260s on the register
- Registration
- N9121P · registry record · serial 24-4600
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHEN THE PILOT CONTACTED THE RENO, NEVADA, FLIGHT SERVICE STATION, HE DECLINED A STANDARD BRIEFING, BUT REQUESTED A ROUTE FORECAST BETWEEN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, AND COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO. HE WAS ADVISED OF AN AIRMET FOR MOUNTAIN OBSCUREMENT, OCCASIONAL MODERATE RIME ICING IN CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION BETWEEN 8,000 AND 17,000 FEET EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. ALSO, HE WAS ADVISED OF IFR CONDITIONS FROM PUEBLO NORTH TO DENVER. THE PILOT FILED A VFR FLIGHT PLAN AND DEPARTED. WITNESSES NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE SAID THEY HEARD A LOW FLYING AIRPLANE AND THE SOUNDS OF IMPACT. IMPACT OCCURRED AT DUSK, NEAR THE TOP OF A RIDGE. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL PROBLEM WAS FOUND. WEATHER WAS DESCRIBED AS 100' TO 200' VISIBILITY, FREEZING TEMPERATURE, FOG, AND INTERMITTENT LIGHT SNOW. ALTHOUGH THE PILOT WAS INSTRUMENT RATED, HIS LOGBOOK CONTAINED NO RECORDED INSTRUMENT FLIGHT TIME, EITHER SIMULATED OR ACTUAL, IN THE LAST 13 YEARS. FIVE PEOPLE WERE ABOARD THE AIRPLANE, ALTHOUGH IT WAS EQUIPPED WITH ONLY FOUR SEATS. AUTOPSY PROTOCOL DISCLOSED THE PILOT HAD 'PATCHY FIBROSIS COMPATIBLE WITH PREVIOUS CARDIAC ISCHEMIA' AND 'SIGNIFICANT ARTERIOSCLEROSIS.' TOXICOLOGICAL PROTOCOL DISCLOSED THE PRESENCE OF THIAZIDES, A DIURETIC USED IN HEART MEDICATION.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,102 hours in all; 84 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,111 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 24, 1995; 98 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-D4A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: VGT Las Vegas NV at 10:15 pm
- Destination: COS Colorado Sprgs CO
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 170° at 6 knots
- Sky: broken clouds; not recorded
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 pm from PUB, 33 miles away
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.
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 FTW95FA402.