Mooney M20C N5557Q

Summary

On 8 December 2019 at about 20:00 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N5557Q was involved in an accident near Flower Pot, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 December 2019 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Flower Pot, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

34.4794, -111.9892

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N5557Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1965

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Flagstaff → Phoenix

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

Unk

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20FA034

1 person died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot’s decision to initiate and continue the visual flight rules flight into an area of forecast instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and loss of airplane control. Contributing was the pilot's lack of instrument flight experience.

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 received two separate weather briefings before departing on the accident flight. During both briefings, he was informed of an AIRMET for mountain obscuration along his intended route of flight. During the second briefing, he was also informed that there was an AIRMET for instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) that included the intended route of flight. The pilot then departed on the cross-country flight and was witnessed flying at very low altitude below an overcast cloud layer. Witnesses captured photographs of the airplane as it flew over their car and stated that it appeared to be following the road. One of the photographs showed that the airplane was about 227 ft above the ground and showed low clouds and obscuration of the mountain peaks in the background. There were no witnesses to the accident. Radar track data ended about 23 miles from the accident site but showed the airplane flying between 250 and 1,600 ft above the terrain for the portions of the flight that were captured. Postaccident examination of the airplane, engine, propeller, and control system did not reveal any preimpact anomalies. Based on the available evidence, the accident was the result of the pilot's decision to initiate the flight in poor weather conditions, which resulted in an encounter with instrument meteorological conditions. The non-instrument rated pilot was unable to maintain situational awareness, lost control of the airplane, and impacted the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.