Piper PA-12 accident near Longmont, Colorado, August 15, 1997
On August 15, 1997 at about 2:30 am local time, a Piper PA-12, registered N2849M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Longmont, Colorado (Longmont Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot in command's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft, resulting in an inadvertent ground loop.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 15, 1997 · about 2:30 am local time · cases in 1997
- Place
- Longmont, Colorado · Longmont Airport · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-12 · all PA-12s on the register
- Registration
- N2849M · registry record · serial 12-1402
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot elected to land on runway 29 because the 'wind (was) light with (a) south component.' The airplane bounced and veered left and the pilot overcorrected. The aircraft began swerving and the pilot overcorrected again to the right, 'inadvertently using rudder and brake.' The airplane then ground looped. The computed crosswind component was 3-1/2 knots and the tailwind component was 6 knots. The left main landing gear was sheared off, and both the forward and aft left wing spars were bent.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,830 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 57 in the last 90 days; 37 in the last 30 days; 1,680 as pilot in command; 634 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,881 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 5, 1996; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 7V1 Buena Vista CO at 1:20 am
- Destination: 2V2
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 4,200 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 45 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:45 am from BJC, 29 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N2849M the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N2849M on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser 1,247 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,839 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2B 92 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Accidents and incidents in Colorado 2,860 since 1982 · 383 in the last ten years
- Colorado 7,486 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N2849M 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/FTW97LA312.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.