On December 21, 2000, at 1522 mountain standard time, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-60, received substantial damage during a hard landing at Aspen, Colorado. The commercial pilot and his two passengers were not injured. The flight was operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and an IFR flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this cross-country flight, which departed McCook, Nebraska, at 1349. According to observers at the Aspen airport, runway 15 was in use and the aircraft landed hard in a crab. The right main landing gear tire blew out on touchdown, damaging the right main landing gear brake system, right main landing gear assembly, right propeller, and the right side of the fuselage was penetrated by pieces from the blown tire. In his narrative concerning the accident, the pilot said the right man tire blew out at touchdown and he stopped the aircraft on the runway and conducted an evacuation. Wind at the time of the landing was from 220 degrees at 5 knots.