Mooney M20E N5594Q

Summary

On 3 May 1999 at about 20:51 local time, a Mooney M20E registered N5594Q was involved in an accident near Cedar City, Utah, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 May 1999 at 20:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Cedar City, Utah, United States

Coordinates

37.5905, -113.1899

Aircraft

Mooney M20E

Registration

N5594Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nucla → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN99FA071

3 people died.

The pilot's inadequate fuel consumption calculations. Factors were the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and the obscuring weather conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot contacted DUATS five separate times to plan his trip to Cedar City, Utah. The flight departed Boulder, Colorado, at 0908 and landed at Nucla, Colorado, at 1122 because of weather. The pilot departed Nucla, without refueling, at 1207. He received an in-flight IFR clearance at 1324, and proceeded on to Cedar City in IMC. At 1431, the pilot declared minimum fuel, and at 1443, the pilot declared an emergency for fuel exhaustion. The pilot reported that the engine started, and then at 1450, he said that he was circling to the ground. Although the pilot didn't say if the engine was running during the final minute of flight, physical evidence at the accident site suggested that it was not. An FAA inspector, who was driving southwest bound on I-15, approximately 7,000 feet south of the impact point, at the time of the accident, reported mist, light rain mixed with light snow, and visibility estimated to be 5 car lengths. An Air Force helicopter located the downed airplane at 1608. There were no indications of fuel in the aircraft at the accident scene.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.