Mooney M20E N5853Q

Summary

On 30 July 2000, a Mooney M20E registered N5853Q was involved in an accident near Jackpot, Nevada, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 July 2000

Classification

Accident

Location

Jackpot, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Jackpot (06U)

Coordinates

41.9822, -114.6636

Aircraft

Mooney M20E

Registration

N5853Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jackpot → Jerome

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX00FA283

2 people died.

The pilot inadvertently became lost/disoriented during initial climb and collided with terrain. A related factor was the dark night.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane collided with terrain after departure on a dark night. A witness watched the airplane depart runway 15 and appear to climb above lights on top of a mountain. The airplane turned left toward the east, and several seconds later it began to lose altitude. The airplane disappeared from sight; then the witness heard the engine rpm increase followed by a "crash sound." The first identified point of ground contact was 0.52 miles from the airport on a magnetic bearing of 105 degrees, and there was zero percent illumination of the moon. An examination of the airframe and engine revealed no catastrophic failures and no anomalies, which would have precluded normal operation of the airplane or engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.