No fatalities

CESSNA 180 K accident at Denver, CO, 2 Apr 2021

Denver, CO, United States

On April 2, 2021, a CESSNA 180 K was involved in an aviation accident near Denver, CO. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot’s loss of situational awareness, and his unintended landing on a soft unimproved dirt road, which resulted in a loss of directional control into soft ground and the airplane to subsequently nose over. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

Probable cause

The pilot’s loss of situational awareness, and his unintended landing on a soft unimproved dirt road, which resulted in a loss of directional control into soft ground and the airplane to subsequently nose over.

— NTSB Determination

Contributing factors

PilotDirectional control — Not attained/maintainedContributed to outcome