Mooney M20C N5878Q

Summary

On 22 March 1999 at about 20:30 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N5878Q was involved in an accident near Irving, New York, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 March 1999 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Irving, New York, United States

Coordinates

42.5598, -79.0393

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N5878Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Caldwell → Port Huron

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD99LA035

1 person had minor injuries.

was the pilot's intentional flight into known icing conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on a VFR flight with IMC and icing conditions forecast and reported along his route of flight. The pilot filed an IFR flight plan en route and entered IMC conditions. Shortly thereafter, the pilot experienced a loss of engine power that could not be corrected by application of carburetor heat. The pilot reported a loss of cabin heat at the onset of the emergency. Cabin heat was drawn from the same source as carburetor heat, upstream of the carburetor. An AIRMET for icing issued prior to departure called for: Light to occasional moderate rime icing in-clouds below 8,000 feet. Conditions continuing beyond 1600 through 2200. A National Weather Service Area Forecast issued for the route of flight was for overcast ceilings at 2,000 to 3,000 feet with tops to 12,000 feet, occasional light snow showers. Weather reported 10 miles southeast of the accident site, was: few clouds at 200 feet with a broken ceiling of 700 feet and an overcast ceiling at 1,100 feet. Visibility was 1/4 mile in light snow and freezing fog. The winds were from 250 degrees at 23 knots gusting to 31 knots. The airplane was not equipped with de-icing or anti-icing equipment.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.