Mooney M20 N3539X

Summary

On 27 October 2014 at about 13:40 local time, a Mooney M20 registered N3539X was involved in an accident near Boulder, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 October 2014 at 13:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Boulder, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Boulder Municipal Airport (KBDU)

Coordinates

40.0403, -105.2256

Aircraft

Mooney M20

Registration

N3539X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Boulder → Denver

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15FA030

1 person died.

The loss of airplane control for reasons that could not be determined by the postaccident examination, which was limited due to impact damage and postcrash fire.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses reported that, just after takeoff, the airplane rolled left to an inverted position and impacted terrain. One witness reported hearing abnormal engine sounds just before the impact, but other witnesses did not recall hearing anything abnormal. The pilot was departing to the east with a direct crosswind, and the sun was most likely in the pilot's eyes, but it could not be determined what effect this would have on the pilot's control of the airplane. The throttle, mixture, and propeller controls were found in the full power, rich mixture, and high rpm positions, respectively. However, the propeller blade signatures were consistent with the engine operating at a low power setting. A trace amount of water was found in the fuel divider; however, this could have come from post-accident firefighting measures. Due to impact and postcrash fire damage, fuel from the fuel tanks and lines was not available for examination, and the damage also precluded a functional test of the engine and related systems. The investigation could not determine if the engine lost power before the airplane rolled inverted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.