Amateur-built COZY MK IV accident near Pueblo, Colorado, October 4, 1996
On October 4, 1996 at about 11:30 pm local time, a amateur-built COZY MK IV, registered N96PJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pueblo, Colorado. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot/builder's improper design change which resulted in a loss of control following an intentional stall. A factor was an erroneous weight-and-balance calculation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 4, 1996 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Pueblo, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built COZY MK IV
- Registration
- N96PJ · registry record · serial 203
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, he was practicing slow flight and stalls at 5,000 feet above ground level (10,000 feet msl). The only thing he could recall was that the 'main wing stalled' and that the canard was supposed to stall first. The nose pitched up, and he was unable to break the stall. After examining the wreckage, the airplane designer and an FAA airworthiness inspector concluded (1) the canard wing had too low an angle-of-incidence, (2) three of six vortilons had been removed from the main wing, (3) the pilot erroneously calculated the empty weight center of gravity (CG), making all other CG calculations incorrect, and (4) as fuel flowed towards the aft portion of the fuel tank during the stall, the CG moved 1.1 inches beyond the aft CG limit. The designer concluded that the aircraft had not been built according to the plans, but rather was 'converted' to an 'Aerocanard...an unauthorized, unapproved, rip-off design.' The pilot had about 400 hours of flight time in various Cozy aircraft, but he had accrued only about 17 hours in the Cozy MK IV.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,350 hours in all; 17 in this make and model; 55 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 7,980 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 17 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1996; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1G6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PUB CO at 10:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:42 pm from PUB, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N96PJ the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 FTW97LA009.