Mooney M20E N9330M

Summary

On 1 April 2013 at about 17:10 local time, a Mooney M20E registered N9330M was involved in an accident near Guymon, Oklahoma, 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

1 April 2013 at 17:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Guymon, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Guymon Muni (GUY)

Coordinates

36.7306, -101.6053

Aircraft

Mooney M20E

Registration

N9330M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Guymon → Peyton

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13FA217

2 people died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot's encounter with instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and his subsequent loss of airplane control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to take off in deteriorating weather conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness reported that, after landing for an en-route fuel stop, the noninstrument-rated pilot checked the weather and then departed for a cross-country flight; instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of departure. The burned wreckage was found 2 days later in a remote unpopulated area about 6 miles northwest of the departure airport. Examination of the accident site revealed ground scars and airplane damage consistent with a nearly vertical nose-down collision with terrain. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures, although the definitive operational status of the vacuum-driven instruments could not be determined. The weather information, which was corroborated by a witness, depicted deteriorating weather conditions with a lowering variable ceiling and the lack of a visible horizon in the area at the time of the accident. The low-visibility conditions were conducive to the noninstrument-rated pilot's development of spatial disorientation, and the airplane's near-vertical descent is consistent with the pilot's loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.