Mooney M20K N231DS

Summary

On 7 January 1998 at about 17:45 local time, a Mooney M20K registered N231DS was involved in an accident near Vernon, Texas, 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

7 January 1998 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Vernon, Texas, United States

Coordinates

34.1472, -99.2609

Aircraft

Mooney M20K

Registration

N231DS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Marcos → Garden City

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98FA088

2 people died.

the loss of control during cruise flight for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The single-engine airplane was established at a cruising altitude of 12,000 feet MSL. The instrument rated commercial pilot requested a descent to a lower altitude and was given clearance to descend to 10,000 feet by ATC. After the pilot acknowledged the clearance, radar contact and voice communications from the aircraft were lost. No distress calls were received from the aircraft. The wreckage of the airplane, which had impacted the ground in a near vertical attitude, was found by a search and rescue helicopter in an open field. Several aural witnesses, located near the accident site, reported hearing a very loud engine noise followed by silence. Several residents in the vicinity reported the local weather to be foggy, with freezing rain, and low clouds. The aircraft, which was not equipped for flight in icing conditions, was operating within the boundaries of a current weather advisory, which called for rime icing in the clouds below 8,000 feet. No mechanical anomalies were found during examination of the wreckage. Pilots flying various types of aircraft in the vicinity of the accident site had reported light to moderate icing in the clouds from 16,000 feet to 4,000 feet. According to the NTSB meteorologist, it was likely that the pilot could have encountered IMC conditions with light to moderate icing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.