British Aerospace AVRO 146-RJ70A incident near Rifle, Colorado, February 21, 1996
On February 21, 1996 at about 4:58 am local time, a British Aerospace AVRO 146-RJ70A, registered N832BE, was involved in an incident near Rifle, Colorado (Rifle/Garfield County Reg). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 28 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The copilot's failure to compensate for wind conditions, resulting in excessive airspeed, and his failure to attain the proper runway touch down point. Factors were inadequate dispatch procedures and the captain's improper inflight planning/decision in that runway conditions were not requested or obtained; a tail wind, a wet downhill runway, hydroplaning conditions, and the captain's failure to adequately supervise the copilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 21, 1996 · about 4:58 am local time
- Place
- Rifle, Colorado · Rifle/Garfield County Reg · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 28 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- British Aerospace AVRO 146-RJ70A AVRO 146-R · all AVRO 146-RJ70As on the register
- Registration
- N832BE · no longer on the register · serial E1223
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The first officer, who flew the LOC/DME-A approach to runway 26 at a Vref speed of 115+5 knots, said the airplane touched down 2500 feet past the threshold and went off the end of the 7000 foot runway, coming to a halt 300 feet beyond. The airport manager said, and FDR and GPS confirmed, the airplane touched down 4600 feet beyond the runway threshold at 138 knots ground speed and 119 knots indicated airspeed, and traveled 3400 feet before coming to a halt. Prior to landing, the crew did not request, nor did the airport or company dispatch give, runway condition, braking action, or precipitation reports. The captain said he found one inch of slush on the runway. The Airplane Flight Manual states landings 'on a slippery surface having a braking coefficient of friction of 0.05...are not permitted on a downhill runway unless the downhill slope is less than 0.5% and there is no tailwind component.' Runway 26 has a 1.2% downhill gradient and FDR data indicates the wind was 098 at 6 knots.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,800 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 134 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 10,000 as pilot in command; 2,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,925 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 24, 1996; 299 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 90,000 lb
- Seats: 73
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming LF-507-1F (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Business Express, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MSP Minneapolis MN
- Destination: RIL CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 26, 7,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:58 am from RIL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 24 |
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.