Sept. 1, Villa Grove, Colo. / Piper Archer

At approximately 08:25 MDT, a Piper PA-28-181 Archer crashed in the mountains 10 miles northwest of Villa Grove. The flight instructor and commercial pilot getting instruction were killed. The accident airplane was one in a flight of three being used to train FBI pilots in mountain flying techniques. The other two FBI pilots said they came through Hayden Pass and turned north, to an area where they would practice turning around in blind canyons. One pilot said he and his flight instructor performed three types of exit maneuvers in their Cessna 172. The other pilot said he and his instructor, also flying in a Cessna 172, were discussing the exit maneuvers when they noticed the Archer had cras...

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A Piper PA-28-181 Archer crashed during a mountain flying training exercise for FBI pilots 10 miles northwest of Villa Grove.
  • The accident resulted in the fatalities of both the flight instructor and the commercial pilot receiving instruction.
  • The aircraft was part of a three-plane formation, with the other two Cessna 172s flown by FBI pilots and their instructors practicing maneuvers nearby when they observed the crash.
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At approximately 08:25 MDT, a Piper PA-28-181 Archer crashed in the mountains 10 miles northwest of Villa Grove. The flight instructor and commercial pilot getting instruction were killed. The accident airplane was one in a flight of three being used to train FBI pilots in mountain flying techniques. The other two FBI pilots said they came through Hayden Pass and turned north, to an area where they would practice turning around in blind canyons. One pilot said he and his flight instructor performed three types of exit maneuvers in their Cessna 172. The other pilot said he and his instructor, also flying in a Cessna 172, were discussing the exit maneuvers when they noticed the Archer had crashed.

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