Maule M-7-235 accident near Laramie, Wyoming, October 25, 1996
On October 25, 1996 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Maule M-7-235, registered N5664Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Laramie, Wyoming (Evans (Private) airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
VFR flight by the pilot into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), his misjudged speed/distance on final approach for landing, and his failure to attain the proper touchdown point during the landing. Factors relating to the accident include snow, low ceilings, obscured visibility, and a fence and ditch off the end of the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 25, 1996 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Laramie, Wyoming · Evans (Private) · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Maule M-7-235 · all M-7-235s on the register
- Registration
- N5664Y · registry record · serial L24008-40A
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a flight from Laramie, WY, to Boulder, CO, the pilot encountered deteriorating weather and reversed course. After the pilot arrived back at his private airstrip, he found snow, low ceilings, and obscured visibility. He elected to land in what he estimated was about one-quarter mile visibility, but was fast on final approach and landed long. He was unable to stop the aircraft on the remaining runway, and after it departed the airstrip, it went through a fence, then it nosed over as it rolled through a ditch.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,000 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 3,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 896 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 1, 1993; 133 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-J1A5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: 1V5 Boulder CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 3,600 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 10 knots
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.