2012 Fokker DR.1 Crash Near Parker, Colorado (N152RB)

Accident Overview and Flight Details On August 26, 2012, an experimental amateur-built Eberle Fokker DR.1 tri-plane, registration N152RB, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain two miles northeast of Parker, Colorado. The aircraft, owned by a private individual and operated by an Airline Transport Pilot, departed controlled flight during a personal cross-country flight from Centennial Airport (APA) in Englewood, Colorado, to the Platt Valley Airpark in Fort Lupton, Colorado. The pilot, the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the Part 91 operation. Radar data indicated the aircraft climbed to 6,700 feet MSL before initiating a descending left turn at 0946:10 MDT. The radar track stopped at 6,400 feet MSL over the impact location, with the terrain elevation at the site being 6,170 feet MSL. Witnesses reported the aircraft yawing to the left and entering a left spiral with the nose down approximately 45 degrees before impact. The pilot, interviewed seven months later, could not recall the events of the day and first remembered waking up in the hospital.