Mooney M20J N301JL

Summary

On 3 December 1997 at about 05:00 local time, a Mooney M20J registered N301JL was involved in an accident near Sedona, Arizona, 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

3 December 1997 at 05:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Sedona, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Mooney M20J

Registration

N301JL

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Flagstaff

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX98FA050

2 people died.

the failure of the pilot to maintain adequate terrain clearance during the climb. Contributing factors were dark night conditions, mountainous/hilly terrain, and mountain wave weather conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The area forecast was for VFR to MVFR conditions with occasional visibility reducing to 3 to 5 miles in mist. The 700 mb (10,000 feet MSL) Constant Pressure chart depicted Flagstaff as having northwesterly winds of approximately 25 knots. After checking the weather several times, the pilot departed Sedona (elevation 4,827 feet). No flight plan had been filed for the 21 mile northbound flight to Flagstaff. Dark night conditions existed at the time of the accident and there were no ground lights in the direction of flight. After takeoff, the northbound aircraft struck the leeward side of a 6,100-foot ridge, about the 5,952-foot level, and at a point located along a direct route to Flagstaff. The crash site was located bearing 019 degrees and 4.3 miles from the Sedona airport. Given the wind and mountainous terrain in the area of the accident, the influence of such winds would result in downslope wind conditions over the accident site.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.