Mooney M20K N231DL

Summary

On 23 May 2004 at about 17:39 local time, a Mooney M20K registered N231DL was involved in an accident near Pinedale, Wyoming, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 May 2004 at 17:39

Classification

Accident

Location

Pinedale, Wyoming, United States

Coordinates

43.1811, -109.6569

Aircraft

Mooney M20K

Registration

N231DL

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sunrise → Riverton

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN04FA079

3 people died.

The pilot's inadvertent flight into adverse weather conditions, and his failure to maintain terrain clearance while maneuvering. Contributing factors were the downdraft, the snow shower weather and mountainous terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument rated private pilot had been airborne for approximately 3 hours when he approached the Wind River Range in central Wyoming. Radar data indicated that he descended from 15,500 feet to 14,300 feet (because of weather) to cross the continental divide at Gannett Peak, elevation 13,804 feet,. Radar data indicates that approximately 20 seconds later, the airplane was in an approximate 4,200 feet per minute rate of descent. Satellite imagery and NEXRAD Doppler data suggest that at the pilot's ground track location, the mountain was experiencing light to intermittent snow showers according to the NTSB meteorologist. No endorsements could be found in the pilot's flight logbook to indicate that he had received any mountain flying training. Search and rescue teams found the airplane 3 days later. No evidence of a mechanical failure was found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.