Mooney M20C N113TA

Summary

On 27 November 2018 at about 02:50 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N113TA was involved in an accident near Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 November 2018 at 02:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Fe Municipal (SAF)

Coordinates

35.6172, -106.0894

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N113TA

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Goodyear → Akron

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN19FA032

1 person died.

Collision with terrain for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's poor preflight planning and poor decision to depart on the accident flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot departed on a cross-country flight which continued into night visual meteorological conditions across sparsely-populated terrain. The destination airport was located about 600 nautical miles (nm) northeast of the departure airport; however, the airplane impacted terrain almost 5 hours after takeoff near an airport about 330 nm east-northeast of the departure airport and about 120 nm east-southeast of a direct course between the departure and destination airports. The airplane's route of flight could not be determined; however, the location of the accident site suggests that the pilot had become lost at some point during the flight. Investigators were not able to determine what, if any route of flight planning was conducted by the pilot prior to the flight. A witness near the accident site saw the airplane flying over the airport with "no lights whatsoever." His perception was that the pilot was not trying to land, but may have been trying to attract the attention of the tower controller. The landing gear and wing flaps appeared to be retracted, and the engine was running smoothly. The airplane impacted a ravine about 1/3-mile south of the airport and was destroyed by impact forces and a postimpact fire. Postaccident airframe and engine examinations did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction; however, portions of the airplane were damaged by the postimpact fire to the extent that a complete examination of some airplane systems, such as the electrical system, were not possible. The airplane did not have a current annual inspection, nor had the pilot requested a ferry permit for the flight. Based on the available information, the reason the pilot was circling the airport and the airplane's subsequent impact with terrain could not be determined. It is likely the pilot became lost at some point during the flight and the airplane was likely near its fuel endurance limit at the time of the accident. The pilot may have been trying to orient himself by circling the airport or was attempting to alert the tower controller before setting up for a landing. However, the investigation was unable to determine whether a loss of control preceded the impact with terrain or whether the pilot became low on a landing approach.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.