Mooney M20B N74584

Summary

On 20 June 2014 at about 21:30 local time, a Mooney M20B registered N74584 was involved in an accident near Page, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 June 2014 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Page, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Page Muni (PGA)

Coordinates

36.8092, -110.8036

Aircraft

Mooney M20B

Registration

N74584

Category

Airplane

Year built

1961

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Page → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14FA262

2 people died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance from terrain while maneuvering in a canyon in high-density altitude conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The airplane was reported overdue, and search and rescue personnel discovered the wreckage 2 days later on a canyon hillside. The pilot had not filed a flight plan, he did not communicate with air traffic control during the flight, and no radar data were available to identify the flight route. Therefore, the pilot's flight planning and intentions could not be determined. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. No significant weather or turbulence was reported or forecast in the vicinity of the accident site around the time of the accident. However, high-density altitude conditions existed in the accident area about the time of the accident. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted the canyon hillside with the wings parallel to the hillside in an upright attitude, consistent with a left banking turn. It is likely that the pilot flew into the canyon and was maneuvering around terrain and miscalculated the airplane's turning capability. Further, the airplane's climb performance, as the pilot was attempting to turn and climb above the terrain, was likely degraded due to the high-density altitude conditions. Toxicological tests of the pilot detected ethanol, n-propanol, amlodipine, and salicylate. However, the ethanol level was well below the legal limit and was unlikely acutely impairing at the time of the accident, and the n-propanol was likely due to postmortem production. Amlodipine and salicylate are not directly impairing and, thus, would not have posed a flight safety hazard.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.