Mooney M20K N252AK

Summary

On 2 September 2003 at about 12:45 local time, a Mooney M20K registered N252AK was involved in an accident near Novato, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 September 2003 at 12:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Novato, California, United States

Nearest airport

Gnoss Field (DVO)

Coordinates

38.1333, -122.5603

Aircraft

Mooney M20K

Registration

N252AK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Novato → Oakland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

LAX03LA276

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to attempt VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions during the dark early morning takeoff, which resulted in spatial disorientation and lead to a collision with trees off the departure end of the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the initial climb-out the airplane collided with trees off the departure end of the runway. The pilot had filed an instrument Flight Rules flight plan, but decided to fly according to Visual Flight Rules to his destination airport. He indicated that it was still dark outside for the early morning flight. The pilot said that during the initial climb-out he lost visual reference with the ground due to the lack of ground lights and a visible horizon. He activated the autopilot; however, the airplane was not climbing as expected. As he was trying to figure out what the problem was the stall warning activated, he disengaged the autopilot, and attempted to lower the nose. The airplane simultaneously collided with trees. Weather in the accident site at the time of the accident was reported by witnesses to be 1/8-mile visibility with overcast clouds at 100 feet. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies noted with the airplane. According to the US Naval Observatory, sunrise for the date and location of the accident was at 0541.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.