Mooney M20F N9371M

Summary

On 22 December 2007 at about 23:30 local time, a Mooney M20F registered N9371M was involved in an accident near Carrollton, Georgia, United States. One person was 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 December 2007 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Carrollton, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

West Georgia Regional (CTJ)

Coordinates

33.6300, -85.1517

Aircraft

Mooney M20F

Registration

N9371M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Abingdon → Carrollton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

NYC08CA067

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's descent below the glidepath during the approach, which resulted in a collision with terrain. Contributing factors included the pilot's diverted attention, pilot fatigue, and the night lighting conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of a Mooney M20F was flying a night instrument landing system (ILS) approach and became distracted while attempting to locate and tune in the airport's common traffic advisory frequency. The airplane subsequently descended below the glideslope and impacted the ground about 1 mile from the airport. The pilot stated that he did not experience any mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. He also indicated that due to strong headwinds, he had earlier stopped at an intermediate airport, and should have stayed there, as he was fatigued at the time of the accident. The pilot reported 1,075 hours of total flight experience, which included 990 hours in make and model, and 62 hours in actual instrument meteorological conditions. Weather, reported at an airport about 35 miles to the east of the accident site, about the time of the accident, included a visibility of 1.5 miles in light drizzle and mist, and broken and overcast cloud layers at 400 and 700 feet respectively.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.