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DEN84FU004

1984-05-04 · BERTHOUD, Colorado, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE ULTRALIGHTS WERE FLYING IN LOOSE FORMATION ON A SHORT X-COUNTRY. DURING THE FLT, THE WIND SHIFTED TO THE EAST AND CREATED SOME TURBULENCE AND DOWNDRAFTS NEAR THE END OF THE JOURNEY ON FINAL APPROACH. THE LEAD VEHICLE LANDED WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE THAT HIS COMPANION HAD CRASHED. WITNESSES SAW THE ACCIDENT ULTRALIGHT IN APPARENT TROUBLE DESCENDING AND ASCENDING BEFORE DIVING INTO THE GROUND. THE SURVIVING PLT OF THE OTHER ACFT SAID HE ENCOUNTERED A SINK OVER A DEPRESSION WHILE ON FINAL, BUT NEEDED IT TO LOSE ALT SO IT DID NOT BOTHER HIM AND HE LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE VEHICLE WAS FOUND INTACT AND ALL ACFT PARTS WERE ACCOUNTED FOR. INVESTIGATION DID NOT REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF AN INFLIGHT MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1984_DEN84FU004.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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