Mooney M20J N1160G

Summary

On 21 January 1997 at about 19:50 local time, a Mooney M20J registered N1160G was involved in an accident near Cottage Grove, Minnesota, 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

21 January 1997 at 19:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Cottage Grove, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

St Paul Downtown Holman (STP)

Coordinates

44.8109, -92.9192

Aircraft

Mooney M20J

Registration

N1160G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Madison → St Paul

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI97FA058

2 people died.

failure of the pilot to maintain control of the airplane during an ILS approach. Factors relating to the accident were: the IFR weather conditions, the pilot's lack of recent instrument experience, and the pilot's lack of familiarity in flying the accident aircraft.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft was destroyed when it collided with snow covered terrain during an ILS runway 32 approach to the St Paul Downtown Holman Field Airport. The pilot had planned to fly to Cambridge, Minnesota, where the airplane was based, but requested a diversion into Holman Field, due to weather. No abnormalities with any navigational equipment were found. A review of the airframe and engine did not reveal any abnormalities. Radar data indicated that the aircraft's altitude varied by more than 1,300 feet from the assigned altitude during the instrument approach. During the altitude deviations, the controller issued a heading change to the pilot. The pilot's logbook indicated that this was the pilot's first instrument approach, in actual IFR conditions, in this airplane. The pilot had flown 4.1 hours of actual instrument time in the past 2 years.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.