Mooney M20C N6555U

Summary

On 30 July 2005 at about 15:45 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N6555U was involved in an accident near Natchez, Mississippi, United States. 4 people were on board and 3 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 July 2005 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Natchez, Mississippi, United States

Nearest airport

Hardy-Anders Field Natchez (HEZ)

Coordinates

31.6122, -91.2978

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N6555U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Natchez → Wichita Falls

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA05FA139

3 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent uncontrolled descent to ground impact. A contributing factor was the pilot's lack of experience in complex airplanes.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane with the pilot and three passengers on board was departing for a cross country flight. A pilot witness was standing in front of the airport office building as the accident airplane was taking off on runway 31. He stated that the airplane "started a normal looking departure and climb out." However, "within a few hundred feet," he noticed the climb out was steeper than normal. The airplane started banking to the left while it continued to climb. The airplane "appeared to stall while still banking left," nosed down and impacted the ground. According to the surviving passenger, the takeoff roll was normal. Shortly after takeoff, it felt to her like the right wing and nose of the airplane were abruptly lifted up. She recalled that it was like someone pulled her backwards by her shoulders. At the same time, the pilot made a loud exclamation. She looked toward the pilot and could see through his side window that their height was just above the trees parallel to the runway. She also saw the ground, felt the airplane veer toward the left, and knew they were going to impact the ground. Examination of the wreckage at the accident site indicated the airplane impacted the ground in a left wing low and nose low attitude. No evidence was found of pre-impact mechanical discrepancies with the airframe or engine that would have prevented normal operation. According to his logbook, the pilot had accumulated about 126 hours total flight time of which 3.4 hours were in the accident airplane. No record of the pilot receiving any flight instruction from a certified flight instructor in the accident airplane or in any other complex airplane was found. In the endorsements section of the pilot's logbook, the endorsement required by 14 CFR Part 61.31(e), which certifies proficiency to operate a complex airplane, was blank.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.