Cessna 551 accident near Pueblo, Colorado, September 28, 1998
On September 28, 1998 at about 4:47 pm local time, a Cessna 551, registered N59GB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pueblo, Colorado (Pueblo Memorial Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's delayed flare, improper recovery from a bounced landing, and failure to maintain directional control. A factor was the rough uneven terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 28, 1998 · about 4:47 pm local time
- Place
- Pueblo, Colorado · Pueblo Memorial Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 551 · all 551s on the register
- Registration
- N59GB · registry record · serial 551-0060
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said his landing on runway 8L (10,496 ft. X 150 ft., asphalt) was normal. He pushed the nose forward and began to deploy the thrust reversers when the front of the airplane began to 'veer and then oscillate up and down.' The airplane felt 'very stiff up front as if [it] had hit something.' The airplane became airborne and touched down again, and went off the side of the runway. Control tower personnel said it appeared to them that the pilot had made a 'hard landing.' The pilot recalled that another pilot had inadvertently taxied the airplane off a runway and had become mired in mud. The incident had occurred about one year before the accident. A cable had been wrapped around the nose wheel strut by the retrieval crew and the airplane winched out of the mud. Reportedly, the steering had not been the same since that incident. A review of the airplane maintenance records revealed no entries made as a result of this excursion.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,045 hours in all; 109 in this make and model; 72 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days; 931 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,738 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 21, 1998; 94 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JD-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TVC Traverse City MI at 2:00 pm
- Destination: PUB
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 8L, 10,496 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:05 pm from PUB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.