Pilot Debrief

MOONEY M20J near Collinsville, OK — 2013-04-07

Final reportCEN13FA221
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Date
2013-04-07
Location
Collinsville, OK, USA
Aircraft
MOONEY M20J
Registration
N57672
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
2
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

The pilot’s loss of control of the airplane for reasons that could not be determined because an examination of the airplane did not find an abnormality that would have precluded normal operations.

NTSB narrative

The pilot and passenger were on the return leg of a cross-country flight. Before departing from his home airfield, the pilot filed the outbound and return legs for the instrument flight rules flight as, "GPS direct." The surface wind was reported as 17 knots gusting to 24 knots with a ceiling at 2,000 feet. Shortly after departure, the pilot contacted air traffic control and was given a clearance to 6,000 feet and an amended flight routing. About 5 minutes later, the airplane disappeared from radar, and the pilot did not respond to the air traffic controller's radio call. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane at a steep angle and at a high rate of speed before it impacted terrain. The wreckage was largely fragmented, and a postcrash fire consumed a large portion of the airplane. The airplane's bottom skin panel was located about 1.4 miles from the accident site; because of its location, it is likely the airplane's skin panel separated during the high-speed descent. Review of radar data revealed the airplane climbed to about 4,300 feet and then entered a right descending turn before disappearing from radar. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation. The reason for the pilot's loss of control could not be determined. An autopsy was not conducted; therefore, it would not be determined whether a medical or physiological issue contributed to the accident.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted the flight after receiving weather briefings.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • ADS-B / radar
  • Photos
  • 14 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents14

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