Mooney M20J N11578

Summary

On 4 February 1982 at about 05:20 local time, a Mooney M20J registered N11578, operated by Afro Venture Inc., was involved in an accident near Paradise Valley, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

4 February 1982 at 05:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Paradise Valley, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Sky Harbor Intl Arpt

Coordinates

33.5404, -111.9596

Aircraft

Mooney M20J

Registration

N11578

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Afro Venture Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Paradise Valley → Las Vegas

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX82FUJ27

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PILOT PICKED UP THE NEW AIRCRAFT FROM THE FACTORY AT KERRVILLE, TEXAS ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT. HE WAS FERRYING THE PLANE TO HIS HOME IN NEW JERSEY BY WAY OF LAS VEGAS, NEVADA. HE DECLINED AN OFFER TO BE CHECKED OUT IN THE PLANE AND DEPARTED KERRVILLE AT ABOUT 1700 CST. ABOUT FIVE HOURS LATER, HE LANDED AT PHOENIX, ARIZONA AND REFUELED. HE DEPARTED PHOENIX AT ABOUT 2212 ON A MOONLESS NIGHT. DURING DEPARTURE FROM THE STAGE III TRSA, THE RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WERE NORMAL UNTIL RADAR SERVICE WAS TERMINATED AT 2217 MST. AT 2220 MST, THE PLANE CRASHED ABOUT SEVEN MILES FROM THE DEPARTURE POINT. A NON-RATED WITNESS WITH ABOUT 35 HOURS FLIGHT TRAINING REPORTED THAT THE PLANE CRASHED WHILE IN A SPIN. THE WITNESS ALSO REPORTED THAT THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO OPERATE UNTIL IMPACT. RADAR TRACK DATA VERIFIED THAT THE GROUND SPEED SLOWED FROM 111 KNOTS TO THE SEVENTIES WITH EXCURSIONS TO THE SIXTIES BEFORE A RAPID DESCENT. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED WITH LITTLE OR NO FORWARD MOVEMENT. AN ENGINE TEARDOWN SHOWED NO FAILURE.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.