Mooney M20J N405LA

Summary

On 18 July 1997 at about 17:42 local time, a Mooney M20J registered N405LA was involved in an accident near Placerville, California, 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

18 July 1997 at 17:42

Classification

Accident

Location

Placerville, California, United States

Nearest airport

Placerville (PVF)

Coordinates

38.7294, -120.7996

Aircraft

Mooney M20J

Registration

N405LA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Van Nuys → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97FA253

2 people died.

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane collided with trees and a residence after a loss of engine power while on final approach to runway 23. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postimpact fire, to include all engine accessories, the cockpit, and fuel system. A witness heard the pilot announce that he was on a 2 mile final to runway 23 and no additional transmissions were heard. Other witnesses saw the airplane make a descending, low, sweeping turn to the southwest just above the tree line, in a left wing down attitude just prior to the collision with the trees and residence 1 mile west of the airport. The engine was disassembled and examined with no anomalies noted which would have precluded the engine from producing power. The landing gear was in the down position, and the fuel selector was in the off position. Fuel load and usage was reconstructed based upon the distance between the origin and destination airports. The trip required 15 gallons of fuel. The airplane's last known fueling was on July 17th at the departure airport, when each wing tank was filled with 10 gallons. It is not known how much fuel was present in each tank prior to this fueling. Flight hours subsequent to the July 17th fueling could not be determined. Diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, was detected in the pilot's blood at 0.186 ug/ml, and in the liver at 1.594 ug/ml

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.