Private pilot Stephan Gavit appeared to have difficulty communicating with air traffic controllers and getting weather forecasts before his Cessna 425 crashed south of Centennial Airport 11 months ago, according to a federal air safety report.
Toxicology tests on Gavit found prescription drugs that can be used to treat depression and anxiety, although investigators didn’t link the accident to the medications.
The Aug. 13 accident killed the 62-year-old Gavit, a Littleton businessman; his grandson, Zach Kimbrel, 19; and two acquaintances of the pilot, Golden psychologist Ken Magid, 59, and Brett Derosier, a 28-year-old investment manager from Denver. The four were returning from a business trip to Idaho.
Gavit was flying on instruments to Centennial at night in rainy weather when the twin-engine turboprop crashed in hilly terrain at an elevation of 6,120 feet about 2.6 miles from the runway, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
About four minutes before the accident, a controller instructed Gavit to turn to a specific heading “to join the localizer” – part of the instrument landing system (ILS) – and “descend to and maintain 8,500 feet,” the agency reported.
Gavit asked for a repeat of the instruction, and when the controller stated a slightly altered heading, “the pilot did not respond,” NTSB said. Asked if he received the clearance, Gavit said, “Give me a minute.”
At 8:19 p.m., about a minute before the crash, with the plane at 6,800 feet, a controller in Centennial’s tower told Gavit, “I am getting low altitude, low altitude alert on you.” The pilot responded, “Yeah, I am a bit low here.”
About a half-minute later, Gavit had gained 400 feet and stated, “I’m back on the glide slope,” referring to part of the ILS that guides pilots in bad weather.
After another 24 seconds, with the Cessna at 6,500 feet, the controller said, “Check your altitude,” to no response from Gavit. Eight seconds later, the radar image of the plane was lost.
Gavit last applied for a Federal Aviation Administration medical certificate in July 2003, the NTSB found. At that time he indicated he was not taking any medications. In the 1980s he had been warned by the FAA that a medication he was taking could result in the loss of his certification.
The NTSB reported that Gavit’s personal medical records indicated he had been taking bupropion, also known as Wellbutrin, “for smoking cessation,” since October 2003.
Gavit had held a private pilot’s certificate for 22 years and was involved in three prior incidents, including two in helicopters he was piloting and one in the Cessna.
The agency said investigators interviewed two “pilot acquaintances” who had flown previously with Gavit.
The report added: “Both acquaintances voiced concern about the pilot’s flying skills, with one stating, “a night ILS in IFR (instrument flight rules) conditions would not be (the pilot’s) first choice if he had an option.”
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-820-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
