FAA suspends Steamboat Springs RNAV approach after fatal crash

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has taken the highly unusual step of suspending the RNAV (GPS) Z approach to Runway 32 at Steamboat Springs Airport (KSBS) in Colorado, a procedure many pilots have called “the most dangerous in America,” after the fatal crash of an Epic E1000 during an overnight arrival on February 13, 2026. 

The agency issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) declaring the RNAV (GPS) Z Runway 32 instrument approach procedure “NA” for “not available” with the restriction extending to at least October 1, 2026.  

Four people died when the Epic E1000 crashed near Steamboat Springs, Colorado, as it initiated the approach shortly after midnight, according to the FAA.  

The FAA did not publicly explain why it pulled the approach. However, the RNAV (GPS) Z Runway 32 procedure has drawn scrutiny in the wake of the crash, with pilots and analysts focusing on terrain that rises suddenly into the path of arriving aircraft. 

The RNAV (GPS) Z Runway 32 procedure contains a straight-in approach that lines aircraft up to land on Runway 32 using GPS guidance. It also includes published minimum altitudes that keep aircraft clear of terrain when crews fly the procedure as designed.   But the procedure contained a note cautioning it was unavailable for straight-in minimums at night. This is because the normal descent profile to the runway would place an aircraft below the summit of a mountain ridge south of the airport. Terrain alerts in the Epic 1000’s cockpit are inhibited when in approach mode to reduce the chance for “nuisance alerts.” The Epic also comes equipped with a synthetic-vision display of terrain, but it can be difficult to discern whether the aircraft will clear terrain in certain instances.  At night, the mountain ridge would be invisible to pilots approaching the airport from the south.

Steamboat Springs still has other instrument approach options. The RNAV (GPS)-E procedure remains available and routes aircraft to the east of Emerald Mountain, the area where the Epic impacted terrain.  

In the days after the crash of the single-engine turboprop, the AOPA Air Safety Institute released an early analysis based on available data. The institute noted that aircraft crossed a key waypoint below the published minimum altitude before the impact, as the pilot may have mistakenly missed the note on the approach chart stating the straight-in approach was “NA at night.”  

For now, the only confirmed action resulting from the crash is the FAA’s removal of this one specific approach procedure. Pilots who fly into Steamboat Springs will need to plan around that limitation. 

The NTSB investigation will determine what caused the crash and whether the approach design, charting, training, aircraft equipment, or operational choices played a role.  The post FAA suspends Steamboat Springs RNAV approach after fatal crash appeared first on AeroTime.

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