Mooney M20K N252A

Summary

On 21 November 1997 at about 00:50 local time, a Mooney M20K registered N252A was involved in an accident near Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 November 1997 at 00:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Flying Cloud (FCM)

Coordinates

44.9195, -93.3994

Aircraft

Mooney M20K

Registration

N252A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Buffalo → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CHI98LA042

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's improper decision to continue the approach beyond decision height, when he could not see the runway; and his attempt to land without being properly aligned on the runway. Factors relating to this accident were: darkness, fog and and runway lights.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was flying an ILS approach to runway 9R at Flying Cloud Airport, Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The weather was 300 feet overcast with a visibility of 1/2 mile in fog and mist. The pilot leveled off 'a few feet above decision height after flying the glideslope.' He said that he had trouble finding the runway lights due to the limited visibility. The pilot said that when he did see the lights, he was beyond the threshold of the runway and was not lined up properly with the center of the runway. The airplane touched down off the right edge of the runway striking several runway lights during the landing roll. Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.