Piper PA-34-220T accident near Estes Park, Colorado, February 1, 1996
On February 1, 1996 at about 4:55 am local time, a Piper PA-34-220T, registered N83809, was destroyed in an accident near Estes Park, Colorado. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Descent into mountainous terrain for reasons undetermined.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 1, 1996 · about 4:55 am local time
- Place
- Estes Park, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34-220T · all PA-34-220Ts on the register
- Registration
- N83809 · no longer on the register · serial 34-8133085
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot filed an IFR flight plan and made a night departure from Erie, Colorado, en route to Boise, Idaho. After receiving his IFR clearance in flight, he requested a VFR-on-top clearance and 'a vector heading for (Rock Springs, Wyoming)...just to verify...a radar vector heading just to check that...I'm having a little heading problems here, but switching to compass nav, but we're VFR on top. In fact, it's pretty much VFR below us now.' Nine minutes later, radar contact with the airplane was lost. The airplane remained missing for about a month, and the wreckage was not recovered from a mountain side for 7 months. Radar data indicated the airplane descended from an encoded altitude of 15,100 feet to 13,900 feet in 1 minute, 31 seconds, or about 800 feet per minute. No distress call was received. Wreckage examination failed to explain why the airplane descended or anything causal to accident.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, military
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,917 hours in all; 15 in the last 90 days; 6,381 as pilot in command; 1,334 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,545 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 28, 1995; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,750 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-KB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 48V Erie CO at 4:15 am
- Destination: BOI Boise ID
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 7°F (-14°C), dew point 3°F (-16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:55 am from FNL, 31 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.