Mooney M20K N231GS

Summary

On 18 January 1996 at about 02:11 local time, a Mooney M20K registered N231GS, operated by Dearl G. Foxworth, was involved in an accident near Laredo, Texas, 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

18 January 1996 at 02:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Laredo, Texas, United States

Coordinates

27.5498, -99.4608

Aircraft

Mooney M20K

Registration

N231GS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Dearl G. Foxworth

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → San Antonio

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

FTW96FA091

1 person died.

The pilot's loss of aircraft control. A factor was the dark night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed from runway 14 with winds 150 degrees at 25 knots, blowing dust and haze, no moon, and high broken cloud condition. The airplane's departure route was over sparsely populated cattle country with minimal lighting. Radar contact was lost 3 minutes after takeoff. According to a witness who had flown with the pilot earlier in the day, the pilot flew that entire trip on autopilot, engaging it at 2,500 feet MSL during his climb out to 8,000 feet. The 500 hour pilot purchased the aircraft in August of 1995, and had acquired an estimated 45 hours of flight time in it, and last flew it in late December, 1995. According to FAA records, the pilot received a weather briefing and filed an IFR flight plan. Witnesses at the FBO in Laredo reported that the pilot asked them for some aspirin just before his takeoff; but they did not have any. The aircraft impacted the ground in an attitude of approximately 30 degrees nose low, and a right bank of approximately 90 degrees.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.