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# Pilots had extensive flying experience, Avjet says
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/pilots-had-extensive-flying-experience-avjet-says/
- Published: 2002-03-09T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:06:49.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: local, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import

The Aspen airport does handle smaller commercial jets but is known for its demanding approach procedure.

The plane, which took off from Burbank, stopped at LAX to pick up more passengers, but already was running late. The flight plan showed the plane landing in Aspen at 6:46 p.m., 12 minutes before the curfew.

The voice recorder box picked up conversations that indicate the two pilots did-n’t want to miss curfew but the weather in Aspen was worsening as a light snow was coming from the north, the same direction from which they were approaching, according to an article on AINONLINE.com, an Internet site for aviation news.

Aspen’s control tower informed the pilots that a couple of planes ahead of the Gulfstream missed the runway because the visibility was poor. Knowing that their fuel was low, the pilots couldn’t circle above Aspen for very long before making a decision about whether they would have to land at another airport 50 miles away or shoot for Aspen’s runway, according to AINONLINE.

The voice recorder shows that the pilots were having a difficult time seeing the runway and discussed amongst themselves and the flight attendant about whether they were anxious. The pilots said they weren’t overly concerned, but just couldn’t see the runway, according to AINONLINE.

According to investigators, the black box showed the pilot contacting the local airport tower and asking whether the runway lights were on.

Minutes later, the recorder picked up a configuration alarm that continued to sound for nine seconds. The Gulfstream’s microphone picked up unidentified background noises and the sounds of people screaming, according to AINONLINE.

Frisbie had more than 10,000 flight hours, according to Avjet officials. Kowalczyk had recorded more than 5,500 flight hours.

“The aircraft was operated by a highly experienced crew and as the primary crew assigned to the aircraft, had flown multiple trips to and from Aspen during the month of March,” Marc Foulkrod, president of Avjet, told the Aspen Daily News in a prepared statement days after the crash.

The weather around Aspen that night was fairly clear, but the area off the west end of the runway was experiencing swirling snow squalls, which could impede visibility.

Witnesses say they saw the airplane approach the runway and then bank sharply to the left, as if avoiding a ridge of hills known as Shale Bluffs to its right. The plane crashed into a bluff directly in front of the runway and next to the only highway leading into the ski resort.

The plane was shredded with only the tail remaining partially intact. A ball of metal debris believed to be the cockpit and a clipped wing were visible from the highway. Wreckage and bodies were strewn across the road and a nearby hillside. Two victims still strapped to their seats were ejected from the plane, landing on the shoulder of the highway. (The Associated Press contributed to this article).

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/030902-04_01.jpg)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 9, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/030902.pdf?ref=smdp.com)