According to ADS-B data, the Just Highlander was flown from Cortez Municipal Airport (KCEZ) in Colorado two days before the accident. The data showed the departure time as about 1601. The airplane landed at the pilot’s private dirt airstrip near Dolores, Colorado, about 1616. The airplane was parked outside at the private airstrip until the morning of Jan. 6, 2024. The distance from KCEZ to the private airstrip was about 17 miles.
On the morning of Jan. 6, about 0915, a family member received a text message from one of the pilots that they were flying back to KCEZ. When the airplane did not arrive at KCEZ an Alert Notice was issued, and a search team was assembled.
On Jan. 7, about 1400, the airplane wreckage was located by local law enforcement beyond the departure end of the private runway. A post-impact fire consumed most of the airplane. The pilot and a passenger died in the crash.
There were no witnesses to the accident and there was no ADS-B or radar data associated with the accident flight.
A local pilot flying in the area reported that he saw three tire tracks on the snow-covered dirt runway near the estimated time that the accident occurred.
Investigators were unable to determine the exact time of the airplane’s departure or the time of the accident.
The wreckage was located about 610 feet beyond the departure end of the snow-covered, 1,800-foot dirt runway. The airplane came to rest on an approximate heading of 175°.
A barbed-wire fence was located between the runway and the wreckage and exhibited damage consistent with impact with the airplane. Barbed wire was wrapped around the root of one of the propeller blades about three times, consistent with rotation at the time of impact with the fence.
Snow in the time between the departure and when the airplane was located masked any ground scars that may have been made during the impact sequence.
A post-impact fire ensued and consumed all the fabric on the airframe structure, the flight control surfaces, and all the cockpit instruments. The engine separated from the fuselage and was fire-damaged. The propeller was found separated from the engine and was between the fence and the wreckage. The propeller assembly was impact-damaged on two of the three propeller blades. There was no fire damage to the propeller assembly.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s collision with a fence while taking off from a snow-covered dirt airstrip.
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This January 2024 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Ambient conditions for a morning take-off were not ideal.
Bright lighting condions on a snow-white field [and maybe overcast skys]… with a wire fence at the property boundary that was probably unmarked… and pilot/owner complacencey… what a sad combination.
No real reason given in probable cause so just speculation. If he hit the fence after 1800 feet of runway and still went 600 feet sounds like he never got off the ground. Even at the low temperature it was still 7000 agl and two guys on board. Probably at or over gross. Add in snow covered runway to a low power engine and it’s not a good mix.