Agency Cites Pilot Error In Fatal Colorado Crash

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- Investigators say errors in judgment by an Air Force bomber pilot caused his small civilian airplane to crash during bad weather in Colorado, killing him and his wife.

A National Transportation Safety Board report released this month says the pilot tried to land the single-engine Mooney M20E in a freezing fog, low clouds and poor visibility at Colorado Springs Airport when it crashed on Dec. 22, 2010.

The crash killed 25-year-old Capt. Martin Anthony Riggan and his wife, Nicole.

The NTSB says Martin Riggan missed his first approach and had circled for another landing attempt before the crash.

Riggan was a B-1B bomber pilot stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. The NTSB said earlier he was rated "exceptionally qualified" on his last military flight review.

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