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FTW97LA138

1997-03-25 · TELLURIDE, Colorado, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TEX

N686JF has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (ZIPLINE INTERNATIONAL INC P2 ZIP), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's misjudged landing flare and his improper bounced landing recovery technique. A factor was the snow bank.

Factual narrative

On March 25, 1997, at 1030 mountain standard time, a Cessna, 172K, N686JF, was substantially damaged following a loss of control during landing at the Telluride Regional Airport, Telluride, Colorado. The private pilot, sole occupant in the airplane, received minor injuries. The airplane was owned and operated by Glenwood Aviation as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross country flight which originated from Canyonlands Field Airport, Moab, Utah, approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes before the accident. A VFR flight plan was filed. The pilot stated that during landing the airplane "touched down very hard, bounced high and floated." When the airplane touched down the second time, it was "headed off [the] runway (15 degree angle +-)." He attempted to go around, but the airplane did not get airborne. The landing gear contacted a deep snow bank approximately 500 feet east and 100 feet south of where the airplane departed the runway, and it came to rest inverted. The airplane's wings, engine, propeller, empennage, and fuselage were all damaged. The pilot stated that during landing the airplane 'touched down very hard, bounced high and floated.' When the airplane touched down the second time, it was 'headed off [the] runway (15 degree angle +-).' He attempted to go around, but the airplane did not get airborne. The landing gear contacted a deep snow bank approximately 500 feet east and 100 feet south of where the airplane departed the runway, and it came to rest inverted. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1997_FTW97LA138.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control). All research papers