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No one injured after plane goes off YVRA runway

Matt Stensland

No one was injured Friday after a private plane landed and went off the runway at Yampa Valley Regional Airport.

YVRA Airport Director Kevin Booth said the pilot was practicing approaches when, for an unknown reason, the aircraft went off the right side of the runway and across two taxiways.

“They were having directional control issues,” Booth said.



Booth said the pilot did not know of any issues with the plane when he landed.

The plane’s nose landing gear was partially retracted, causing the nose of the plane to dip down into the dirt where the plane stopped.



The Piper Malibu, single-engine aircraft, is registered to Icarus Management out of Great Falls, Montana. Booth said it was his understanding the plane had been purchased about six months ago and was now based at Steamboat Springs Airport.

Booth said the runway was closed for about 15 to 20 minutes so officials could make sure there was no damage or debris on runway or taxiways.

YVRA and West Routt firefighters responded to the incident. The plane was put in a hanger, and the incident was reported to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

NTSB releases info on 2014 crash

The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday released the probable cause for a Aug. 9, 2014, plane crash on Rabbit Ears Pass.

Instructor William Earl Allen, 62, and his student, Terry Stewart, 60, were killed in the crash. Stewart was concluding a mountain flying training course with a five-leg, cross-country flight. The final leg of the flight was from Steamboat to Boulder.

The NTSB determined probable cause for the accident was the “pilot’s inability to maintain a climb while attempting to cross over a mountain pass in high-density altitude conditions that degraded the airplane’s climb performance. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to attempt the flight in mountainous terrain and to enter the pass in such a way that an escape maneuver was not possible.”

The NTSB did not determined who was flying the plane at the time of the crash and found no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247, email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @SBTStensland


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