Burlington-Kit Carson County

On July 6, 2023, about 1330 mountain daylight time (MDT), a Piper PA-60-601P airplane, N100PB, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Burlington, Colorado. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A search of radar and automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) data sources did not reveal any track data for the flight. There were no witnesses to the accident. Video surveillance at the Kit Carson County Airport (ITR), Burlington, Colorado depicted the aircraft departing the runway about 1330 MDT. No flight plan was found to be filed. Day instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed at the accident site. The airplane impacted a fallow cornfield about 11.8 nautical miles (nm) southwest of the departure airport. A 350 ft long debris path, oriented on a 345° magnetic heading, preceded the l cation of the main wreckage. The airplane impacted the ground in a near wings level nose down attitude. The nose landing gear wheel and fork was found separated from the strut about 325 ft from the initial point of impact. The wing tips were found separated from both wings along the wreckage debris path on their respective sides.

During arrival, the pilot checked the lighted windsock and estimated that the wind was from 020° at 10 knots. He elected not to land on runway 31 since there were obstacles near the approach end. He stated that when the aircraft was about to touch down on runway 13, there was a big gust of wind which made the aircraft land long. As the aircraft landed, the pilot selected max reverse, but got no response. He decide he could not make a successful go-around so he applied max braking, but was unable to stop on the remaining runway. Subsequently, the aircraft departed the runway, went thru a fence, crossed a road, hit a pole and then the gear collapsed as it went over railroad tracks. A witness estimated that at about the time the aircraft was landing, the wind shifted to the north and increased to about 35 to 40 mph. Reportedly, the final approach speed was about 13 knots too fast. Skid marks were found on the runway, starting about 2,000 feet from the approach end. With a 35 knots tailwind, landing roll without reverse thrust would have been 3,015 feet. No malfunctions found, but it was noted that reverse system was inoperative above 90 knots. All three occupants escaped uninjured.