Piper PA-31-350 accident near Hayden, Colorado, August 20, 1997
On August 20, 1997 at about 1:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N35164, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hayden, Colorado (Yampa Valley Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 inadequate visual lookout.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 20, 1997 · about 1:45 pm local time
- Place
- Hayden, Colorado · Yampa Valley Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N35164 · no longer on the register · serial 31-7952090
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Cargo had been unloaded from the airplane into a UPS (United Parcel Service) truck. The pilot thought the truck had moved out of the way. As he began to taxi, the airplane's horizontal stabilizer struck the corner of the truck.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,800 hours in all; 160 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 1,600 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,000 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 16, 1997; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,250 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Flight Line, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: HDN
- Destination: RWL Rawlins WY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:35 pm from HDN
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.
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.