Mooney M20E N3260F

Summary

On 15 June 1990 at about 12:27 local time, a Mooney M20E registered N3260F, operated by Thunderbird Flying Club, Inc., was involved in an accident near Charleston, West Virginia, 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

15 June 1990 at 12:27

Classification

Accident

Location

Charleston, West Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Charleston/Yeager (CRW)

Coordinates

38.3693, -81.5601

Aircraft

Mooney M20E

Registration

N3260F

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Thunderbird Flying Club, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbus → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

BFO90FA057

2 people died.

THE PILOT'S IMPROPER IFR PROCEDURES, HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A PROPER GLIDE PATH ON THE ILS APPROACH, AND HIS FAILURE TO INITIATE A MISSED APPROACH AT THE DECISION HEIGHT. THE ADVERSE WEATHER WAS A RELATED FACTOR.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PLT & COPLT WERE ON A 15-DAY TRIP, WHICH INCLUDED STOPS AT ALL STATE CAPITOLS IN THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES. THE ACDNT OCCURRED ON THE NEXT TO LAST LEG OF THE TRIP. THE PLT WAS ON A VFR FLT, WHEN HE CONTACTED APCH CTL & REQUESTED LANDING INSTRUCTIONS. HE WAS ADVISED THAT IMC CONDITIONS EXISTED AT THE DESTN ARPT. HE THEN OBTAINED VECTORS FOR AN ILS RWY 23 APCH. AFTER ACKNOWLEDGING CLNC TO LAND, THERE WAS NO FURTHER TRANSMISSIONS FM THE ACFT. A WITNESS THAT LIVED NEAR THE FLT PATH TO RWY 23 HEARD THE ACFT & SAW IT FOR ABOUT 2 SECONDS WHEN IT APPEARED IN A BREAK IN THE CLOUDS. SOON THEREAFTER, HE HEARD THE ACFT HIT TREES & CRASH ABOUT 1 MI FM THE APCH END OF THE ARPT AT AN ELEVATION OF ABOUT 1018 FT. WRECKAGE WAS SCATTERED OVER A 600 FT AREA. THE WITNESS RPRTD THE ACFT WAS VERY LOW BEFORE IT CRASHED, BUT THE ENG SOUNDED NORMAL. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT WAS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION. DECISION HEIGHT FOR THE APCH WAS 1181 FT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.