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DEN93LA035

1993-03-24 · BOULDER, Colorado, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 1V5

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT IN COMMAND'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A VISUAL LOOKOUT. A FACTOR WAS: THE STUDENT PILOT'S RESTRICTED VISUAL LOOKOUT.

Factual narrative

THE INSTRUCTOR DECIDED TO SIMULATE A POWER LOSS BY CLOSING THE THROTTLE. THE STUDENT RESPONDED BY TURNING TOWARDS THE ACTIVE RUNWAY. WHEN IT BECAME APPARENT THE AIRPLANE WAS AT TOO LOW AN ALTITUDE TO GLIDE TO THE RUNWAY, THE INSTRUCTOR TOLD THE STUDENT TO ADD POWER AND SHE DID. THE INSTRUCTOR SAID HE SAW TREES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AIRPLANE THAT THE AIRPLANE WOULD CLEAR. HE DID NOT, HOWEVER, SEE A TREE DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE AIRPLANE. THE AIRPLANE STRUCK THE TREE. THE INSTRUCTOR TOOK CONTROL AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1993_DEN93LA035.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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