Mooney M20C N6253U

Summary

On 22 July 2000 at about 14:30 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N6253U was involved in an accident near Longmont, Colorado, United States. 2 people were 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

22 July 2000 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Longmont, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Vance Brand Municipal (2V2)

Coordinates

40.1690, -105.1096

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N6253U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Broomfield → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN00LA137

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper fuel tank selector position resulting in fuel starvation and the ditch impacted during the landing roll. A contributing factor was the pilot's failure to follow published procedures and directives.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After 45 minutes of flight, while conducting touch-and-go landings on a local area personal flight, a total loss of power occurred during climb following a touch-and-go landing. The student pilot attempted to turn back and land the aircraft in the opposite direction on the runway he had departed. He was unable to make it to the runway and landed in a field where the aircraft struck a ditch during landing roll causing substantial damage. The pilot stated the engine quit due to fuel starvation, and investigation verified that the fuel tank selected contained no usable fuel. The aircraft fuel capacity was 75.6 usable gallons and the flight departed with an estimated 25 gallons on board. Review of the pilot's operating handbook for the airplane provided information that the pilot's handbook gave specific preflight and procedural guidance to pilots to verify fuel on board prior to departure and to ensure that critical regimes of flight (landing and takeoff) were conducted on the fullest tank. The student pilot had 65 hours total flight time and 61 hours in the accident aircraft make and model.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.