Accident Summary
On January 11, 2026, at 1408 mountain standard time, a Stinson 108-3 airplane, registration N6725M, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at an unnamed private airstrip near Gypsum, Colorado. The pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Pilot Report
Before the flight, the pilot noted the fuel system contained about 17 gallons, evenly distributed between the left and right tanks. The intended itinerary was to take off, perform a full stop landing at the private airstrip, and then continue to Mc Elroy Airfield (20V) in Kremling, Colorado.
The takeoff was to the southeast. The pilot flew a teardrop pattern to return for a landing to the northwest. During the maneuver back toward the airstrip, he engaged carburetor heat, set the propeller control to full forward, and kept the mixture leaned for high-altitude engine operation. On final approach, once the landing was assured, he turned off carburetor heat.
The pilot reported that after the airplane entered an area of sinking air associated with the nearby canyons, he increased the throttle a couple of times, observing normal responses. However, on short final approach at about 25 feet above ground level, the airplane encountered additional sinking air. He sharply increased the throttle from near idle to an intermediate position. According to the pilot, the engine then "coughed/sputtered."
Due to the low altitude and proximity to the runway, the pilot continued with a higher-than-normal rate of descent. He attempted to flare, but the airplane "pancaked" onto the runway and slid to a stop in a nose-down pitch attitude.
Damage and Examination
Law enforcement photographs showed that the airplane contacted tree tops, with broken tree branches found along the flight path about 30 yards from the resting point on the runway. The welded steel-tube fuselage and engine mount sustained substantial damage from the hard landing. Both propeller blades exhibited impact-related damage consistent with rotation at the time of impact.
A review of the airplane's digital engine monitor data, covering the 2-minute 36-second flight, revealed no evidence of an engine malfunction. However, the device's 6-second recording interval provided insufficient data to confirm a loss of engine power before the hard landing and interruption of electrical power. The wreckage was recovered to a secure storage facility for further examination.