Mooney M20C N6814N

Summary

On 7 October 2025 at about 20:00 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N6814N was involved in an accident near Watsonville, California, 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

7 October 2025 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Watsonville, California, United States

Nearest airport

Watsonville Muni (WVI)

Coordinates

36.9357, -121.7896

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N6814N

Category

Airplane

Year built

1968

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → San Luis Obispo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR26LA009

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s decision to program avionics during taxi, resulting in an inadvertent throttle input and collision with a hangar.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the airplane reported that while taxiing for departure he reached over to enter navigation information into the GPS, which was mounted on the right-side control yoke. While moving his hand back to the left side yoke, he inadvertently advanced the throttle forward. Subsequently, the airplane accelerated forward and impacted a hangar, which resulted in substantial damage to the engine mount. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.