Probable cause
The pilot’s loss of airplane control and inadvertent stall while attempting to return for landing.
NTSB analysis
The pilot had requested to return to the airport for a full stop landing. According to a witness, the airplane appeared to be in a slow, labored climb in an abnormally high pitch attitude about 300 feet above the ground on the downwind leg in the traffic pattern. The airplane then entered a spiral descent while approaching the turn to base and impacted the ground about 0.7 miles north of the runway threshold; a postimpact fire ensued. Examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The slow flight and high pitch followed by a spiral descent are indicative of an aerodynamic stall.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN13FA066 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Nov 21, 2012
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Watkins, Colorado
- Nearest airport
- Front Range Airport, Colorado (KFTG)
- Highest injury
- Fatal
- Fatal injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Amateur-built RAF SE5A Replica
- N-number
- N17SE
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.